August 2018

Here is a couple things we have done this month that I want to remember, but that don't really have enough merit to have their very own post.

Camille 
She has started an online preschool. She is loving it. I am hoping that she will continue to like it for the next 9 months. 9 months is a long time to commit to something, but I hope that she will like it. Camille is the smartest little girl that I know, but we have never let her play any computer games or anything on the computer. So her biggest problem on this online preschool is working the little mouse. She struggles to control it. Hopefully that gets better.

She got this kite from the reading program at the library. It is the cheapest thing, but she loves it so much! We put it together this week (there is no wind but she wants to fly it so bad) so she runs up and down the street so it can catch some wind. Half of the time it is just getting pulled on the concrete but it makes her and Jason so happy. They think they are so cool, and they put on air shows for us. To be honest, she and Jason are so cool. We love them both and they make us laugh.

My mom came over this month after an appointment, and she brought the kids tape. Camille LOVES tape. For Christmas last year she asked for tape, that is how much she loves it. Well, after my mom left Camille decided she wanted to make tape shoes. I told her to be careful with how much tape she used because once it was gone it was gone, but this is what she wanted to do. She just makes me laugh. Her imagination is so amazing. I hope that she never loses that.

She has some tape shoes on in this picture

Camille and I had the funniest conversation the other day. We were watching the Living Scripture movie about electricity and how it was invented, and I told her that people didn't use to have electricity before this. And the first thing that she responded to that was, "but how did people use to cook without a microwave!" ha ha. It made me laugh. Apparently I cook a lot with a microwave. But really, how did people do it before electricity? I feel so grateful to have electricity. But she just made me laugh. We talked about wood burning stoves and such and she was just completely fascinated. I love you Camille and hope you never lose your wonder for life.

Camille gave her first talk in church on 8/26/2018. Kevin helped her write it, and they practiced it for at least an hour before church started so that she could just have it memorized. Then when the time came Camille forgot how it went and Kevin just whispered in her ear. He felt bad for making her practice so long for nothing. She did a great job (obviously) and enjoyed giving her talk.

The other day we were driving in the car and Camille said, "Mom, can Aunt Melissa drive on sidewalk?" I said that she could drive on sidewalk but that she isn't supposed to drive on the sidewalk. She said, "But Aunt Melissa has a Jeep and a Jeep is an off road vehicle." Oh my it made me giggle. Her preschool had given her that definition and she just thought on it and came up with that answer. It makes me feel so happy to be her mom.


Jason
One thing that Jason is saying right now that is so cute is "coo-coo computer" instead of computer. It makes me laugh. His little personality is really starting to come out.

A couple weeks ago we were at a summer work party for Kevin's work and it was at this beautiful family farm of the CEO. The farm is here in Layton, and so it was a quick drive, but the homestead and the landscaping was beautiful. We were walking around exploring the land, and as we were walking over a bridge, a bee got stuck in Jason's hair and it stung his head. It was really sad and scared him. We got him taken care of, but ever since then he has been scared of flying bugs. Specifically flies. Ha ha, it makes me laugh a little (and it is really inconvenient to have melt downs at the kitchen table when a fly is flying around). I think that he thinks flies are bees and bees are flies. A bee will be flying around and he has no problem with them, but the second he sees a fly he is terrified. I guess it is better that way. Maybe he won't have a terrible fear of bees and will figure out as he grows older that flies are just annoying but not scary.

Jason's imagination is starting to grow, and he has started using Sadie's bouncer as a lawn mower. He turns it upside down and pushes it around. It jiggles his arms and he loves it.

We have been doing movie nights on Friday with the kids and they think it is the best day ever. Last month I was having a hard day and Kevin took the kids to McDonalds for dinner and they got the toy Jack Jack from the Incredibles. They were talking about the Incredibles all the time. So we went up to Morgan and borrowed it from my parents to watch on our Friday movie night. I was getting dinner and popcorn ready for the movie and it turned onto the "push play" screen. The intense music was playing and Jason started freaking out. Like shaking and crying. He was so scared for some reason.  So we turned it off and watched something else. Eventually we watched it and he said that he liked it, but after that he would say, "Sadie doesn't like incredibles." ha ha. If he doesn't like it, then he says that Sadie doesn't like it. It is pretty cute.

The last little while Camille and Jason have been playing family a lot. Jason always is the dad because he is a boy. He will hold his hammer, and say things like "I am going to work" and "You call me babe and I call you Honey." I am the mom and since Kevin calls me babe he thinks that he calls me babe since he is the dad. It is so sweet. I seriously love this little boy.

Sadie
Sadie is 2 months old, finally. She has been a good sleeper for the most part. We have her sleeping in the rock and play right now and I am not sure if we made the right choice. She sleeps better than Camille and Jason have slept, but we will have to transition her to a crib in a couple of months when she doesn't fit in the rock and play. I am just hoping that the transition isn't too bad. Did I trade good sleep now for worse sleep later? I guess we will see. But I haven't even spent one full night sitting in the chair. That cannot be said for Camille or Jason. I think with Camille I spent most of my nights in the chair.

Sadie started smiling and trying to coo and talk this month. It makes life so fun. Her smile is the sweetest thing. She crinkles her nose and gets this big grin. It just melts my heart.

Kevin
I want to brag about Kevin for a little bit. He has been working so hard at his job at the bank. He is the leading sales man in the office and last month he did $1.8 million in loans. He provides so good for us and is doing so good at his job. We appreciate all that he does and the hard work that he has put in to get good at being a sales man for this job. Love you Kev!

Jenna
I got a membership at the VASA gym this month. It has been so nice to do something for myself. At night I have been going running and it makes me feel good. New babies are hard for me and I feel like it clears my head and helps me rejuvenate myself so I can take care of everyone when I get home.

Iowa and Grandma and Grandpa Walker's House

Kevin went to Iowa this week for a work trip. He is pretty awesome and it sounded like at least half of this trip ended good. He made some good contact and is figuring things out with the bank and trucking. While he was away we went to my parents house for a couple of days. We had such a wonderful time.

We got there and went to the backyard and picked so many things out of the garden. I love that my dad has a garden, and I hope to have one someday too. The kids picked a bunch of tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, zucchini, and yellow squash. We enjoyed eating the things that we picked and just played in the back yard. It was wonderful.

While we were there we went to the splash pad over at the park. I have been wanting to go to the splash pad this year, but have been nervous to go to one here in Layton. There are just so many more people here than in Morgan and I just have a fear of losing my kids in the crowds of people. My mom watched Sadie and Camille, Jason, and I went over to the park and played at the splash pad. The kids loved it and had so much fun, even though it was a little cold and windy.

We ended up staying an extra night than originally planned because 1) I love being home at my parents house. It is just peaceful and I just love my parents. 2) The jalapenos were ready to be bottled! Kevin and I have been really enjoying the jalapenos that I bottled last year and we are so excited to start eating these ones.

The next morning Kevin was coming home, but he had to catch up on a couple of things so we stayed and my dad took us fishing! Oh it was so fun. Do you know why they call it fishing and not catching? Because you often don't catch anything when you go fishing. Ha ha, did we catch anything...no of course we didn't, but we had so much fun. We drove up to East Canyon and we hiked down a pretty steep beach where the water had gone down and my dad got the fishing poles ready. I technically couldn't touch the poles because I didn't have a fishing license, and it worked out okay because Sadie needed to be held, but Camille and Jason had so much fun. My dad would cast it out and tell them to let it just sit there, but low and behold they both would reel it in fairly quickly after he would tell them not to. I think that was their favorite part. Then the kids started getting bored, and started throwing rocks into the lake (we definitely were not going to be catching anything now). The kids had so much fun. They collected some shells and made some good memories.

These kids are so cute! 

We came home after fishing and Kevin was here. That night the kids pediatric dentist had rented out the Surf n' Swim for a thank you party for his patients. It started at 7! That was crazy to us because we usually put our kids to bed at 7, but we thought we would try to venture out and make some fun memories with the kids. We got there a little early and there was a little line because if you were one of the first 300 people then you got a free towel. I am all about free things! When we got in they were giving out pizza and bread sticks. The kids had some pizza then Camille and I headed into the water. It was SO FUN! Camille is just the sweetest little girl. She was just laughing and playing. Then Kevin took Camille and Jason in while I sat with Sadie since she was already asleep. Jason was tired and not happy to be in the water, so he got out and snuggled with me while Kevin and Camille played in the water for a little longer. We didn't stay too long, but it was so fun. We really are trying to give our kids some good fun memories. We love our children and feel so grateful to be able to be their parents.

Overall we missed Kevin while he was gone. I miss Kevin pretty much always, like the second he leaves the house to work I start missing him until he gets back, so when he is gone for days I really miss him. But it was nice to be able to spend some time with my parents. It ended up being a great week.

Davis County Fair

This weekend we went to the Davis County Fair. For the last couple of years we have told ourselves that we would go to the fair, and the fair has come and gone and we hadn't gone. But this year we got a flyer for the fair and they were going to have a BMX show, and that motivated Kevin to want to go to the fair. It turned out to be so fun! Entrance to the fair was free and so were many of the attractions, so that made me want to go even more.

We got to the fair around 12:30 and a sea lion show was just about to start. We hadn't had lunch yet, but we wanted to see the sea lions so we stuck around for a little. We got to see a sea lion balance a ball on it's nose and we saw one recycle a plastic bottle. We had skipped Jason's nap and the kids were both getting a little hangry since they hadn't had lunch yet, so we didn't stay for the whole show.

We ended up getting some lunch at this Hawaiian place. It had the most delicious pork. Yum! Kevin ended up going back and getting more pork because it was that delicious. One of my favorite things about the fair is fair food. I don't love the prices, but having so many different fun options makes me kind of giddy. I think I need to go to a food truck rally, I think it would be the same, but without the inflated prices. ($5 for a hot dog!! I can hardly believe it!)

We ate by the BMX half pipe trick area so that we would have good seat for the show. I am not actually sure what to call it, but that is where the trick show was. We enjoyed our lunch and then watched the show. It was SO cool! These guys just travel doing these kinds of shows. There was one guy who was 48 years old doing the hardest tricks called land tricks. He didn't use the pipe and jump area, he was just on the ground but could ride his bike upside down and all sorts of things. It really was amazing. And then there were a couple other guys who were doing all sorts of jumps and such. It really was such a cool show to watch.

After the BMX show, the kids wanted to ride some of the fair rides. We got some tickets and rode the strawberry go round, and the kids rode a little boat ride and elephant ride the flies up and down. They just loved it. They really loved the boat one. I think they thought that they were actually driving the boat. It was so fun to see their smiling faces.

After the rides we went and saw real elephants. You could buy a ride on an elephant at the fair. It was so cool. Kevin said, "Look, we don't have to go to the Philippians to ride and elephant!" But I didn't ask to ride one, because someday I am really hoping to ride an elephant in the Philippians.
They had a free area to pet animals, we headed that way, but I was starting to get worried about Sadie. She had been so quiet and was perfect through everything, but I was worried she was getting too hot in her car seat in the stroller. So we walked through the bunny and chicken cages then headed home. I hope that we are here next year and they have this fair again. In the petting area they had camels and zebras and pigs and all sorts of animals. Next year when Sadie is 1 we will go and I will not be as worried.

We started walking home and there was a little band playing as we were walking. Most of the lyrics of the song had to do with a dead skunk in the middle of the road. It just made me chuckle. I love the fair, and spending time with my family. I feel grateful that we were able to go and do some fun things this weekend as a family.

We got home and Kevin wanted to make homemade root beer and ice cream. He went to the store to get everything which ended up taking a long time, but he got it and we made some. The kids thought it was so fun to see the dry ice bubble. Seeing our kids smile is one of my favorite things.

Camille's Swimming Lessons

This is the first year we have done swimming lessons with Camille. I have been a little nervous because when she was younger she was pretty much terrified of the water. We would have to drag her out into it. But this year before Sadie was born Shantel took mine and her kids swimming (she is awesome, that is 5 kids!!!) by herself. She said that Camille and Jason did great, so we decided to stick her in swimming lessons this year. I signed her up for the swimming lessons at the surf n' swim. It is kind of a blast from the past for me going there. I remember going on field trips there when I was in school. It is an outside pool during the summer and during the winter they put a big bubble over the top so that it is an inside pool. It is pretty cool. Anyway, during the first day Camille was just wandering around and picking leaves out of the pool. She wouldn't stay close to the teacher. It kind of made me laugh and question if I should have put her in swimming lessons yet. We talked about it after her class and from there on out she has been so good and listening to her teacher. She is such a sweet girl and learns so fast.

First day of Class

Today was her last day at swimming lessons for this round. It was raining pretty hard for a portion of the lesson. Camille was already wet, but Jason and I got soaking wet as well! (That is why Jason looks so wet in the picture). She has learned "Ice Cream Scoops" arms, blowing bubbles, "Rocket Arms", and a couple other very basic things. She has enjoyed swimming lessons and we have set her up for another round of swimming lessons. I am excited for her and hope she learns more. I guess you will see in the next paragraph!

              

Swimming Lessons #2- I am so glad that we did two sessions of swimming lessons. Camille knew what she was doing a little more and her teacher was awesome. Instead of being in the large pool, we ended up being in a little pool that sits up a little on the hill. It was so much better. It was easier for Camille to pay attention since there was less distraction, and she couldn't wander as far. It was also way better for me because there was a row of chairs that were shaded, so Sadie could sleep in her stroller and I wasn't worried about her getting too hot. Last week we had to hide out in the shade of the building, but it was a little far away. I just didn't want Sadie getting so hot in her car seat. So overall the location was so much better for us.

Camille learned how to put her WHOLE head under water. This is such a big accomplishment for Camille. She has learned how to do a back float and front float, how to push off the wall, and how to tread water. She has help with all of those things right now, but she has learned the concept of it. Hopefully we can get her swimming a little more and we will be able to get her more comfortable with the water. Overall we have loved this session of swimming lessons, and maybe we will put her in another session this winter, but for now I feel happy with all that she has learned. I love her so much, and it has been fun seeing her progress and find joy in swimming. Love ya silly Camille.

Cardboard Fort

Apparently I have been ordering a few too many things on amazon.com recently because we had loads of boxes. I have been feeling bad about not spending as much quality time with Camille and Jason as I would like. So I decided that I was going to build a fort with them. It actually turned out to be pretty awesome. It had the main part, then a window you could stand up and see out of. It also had a little shoe box on the front that had a hole so I could stick snacks and notes through it, and a box on the back where they could store books and such. It was a fun day and they had fun playing in it for the next couple of days.

 

7 Year Anniversary

Kevin and I have been married for 7 years! I can hardly believe it. Our anniversary fell on a Sunday this year, so we celebrated on Saturday. Seeing how we have a 2 month old, it was kind of an uneventful anniversary. We ordered in Texas Roadhouse, which is one of Kevin's favorite places. We watched Batman vs. Superman. We were less than impressed. It was so confusing and we couldn't recommend it to anyone. Then we went to bed early because the night before (Friday to Saturday night) Kevin had driven a load to Wyoming but he drove from 7 PM to 4-5 AM. So long! He was exhausted. But in the end it was just so nice to be with the one I love. Kevin is my very favorite person to be with, whether we are working, relaxing, playing, or anything. He is the one I want to spend my time with.

On our anniversary (the 12th) we actually had some of my best friends from when I lived in Ephraim over for dinner. Jaelle and Jena were able to come over with their spouses. It was so nice to catch up and meet with them. It was interesting to see the different stages we were all in. Kevin and I had been married for 7 years, Jena had been married for a handful of years, and Jaelle for a couple of months. Fun fact, Sadie was actually due on Jaelle's wedding date, but ended up coming late.

Overall our anniversary was wonderful. It is always fun to look back on the years together and see what we have been through. It has been a lot of changes and moves and a little craziness (mostly from me) but the only thing that has stayed constant is knowing that Kevin loves me and I love him. I am grateful for him. Here are 7 reasons why I am the luckiest girl to be married to him.

1. Kevin is the hardest worker. In all that he does, he gives 100%. At home, or in his church calling, or in his job. He is always working and trying to be better.

2. He is the best dad. He will get home from work and play with the kids and do all sorts of fun things with them. He loves his kids and they know that. They are so blessed.

3. He is always looking for ways to help me. I am pretty sure that Kevin has put Sadie to bed more in her life than I have. And it is so helpful to me and I feel so grateful that he will help with Sadie.

4. He likes to eat out almost as much as I like to. I really love cooking, but sometimes it is so nice to just pick something up and not have to do dishes. If I am not feeling like cooking, Kevin never complains if I want to pick something up. It is the best.

5. He is the funniest person I know. Just writing that sentence makes many memories run through my head of me just laughing. He makes me laugh and I love that.

6. Kevin makes me feel like a gourmet cook. When I make cookies he eats at least a dozen, and I know that sounds like such a silly thing, but I like to make people (especially Kevin) feel happy with things that I cook.

7. He loves Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to have married someone who cares what the Lord wants him to do. We are trying to do what the Lord has in mind for us and  become the people He wants us to be. I am grateful to have a husband by my side asking the Lord for guidance.

Mostly, I just love everything about Kevin. Every year with him has gotten better and better. I can't wait to see what year 20 brings us. I love you Kevin, Happy Anniversary!

Grandma and Grandpa Walkers House

Shantel and her kids came up this last weekend and we headed up to Morgan. It was a nice little day away. We got there and the kids went out and picked all the ripe produce from the garden. They picked so many strawberries and peas, some raspberries and zucchini, and even a couple of carrots that they were not supposed to pick. One thing that we really love about Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house is the garden. It was so fun to be up there with Shantel and her kids and my parents. 

My dad pruned the tree a little big so that the kids could climb in it and they loved it. I didn't get a picture of Camille, but here is a cute picture of Jason climbing in this tree. 

A couple weeks ago we went up and canned some beets with Grandpa Walker. We only got 4 pints, but we did it. It makes me happy that my kids get a little experience in a garden. 

I love my parents and love being so close to them that we can go up and do some of these things. Family is the best. 

Rock Park

We did it! We got out of the house! Well we have been out of the house before this to the grocery store and to Camille's swimming lessons and such, but we haven't been to a park yet. When we found out that we would be having a baby in June I was excited because I thought that would mean we would be able to be outside all summer still. When Camille and Jason were born both in the middle of winter, we didn't leave the house hardly ever because it was SO cold and it was rampant flu and RSV season. So we just stayed home, which I think was hard on me mentally. So i was extra excited about having Sadie in the summer. Well, come to find out the middle of summer is just slightly better than the middle of winter. You cannot take a swaddled baby into 90-100 degree weather. It would just be torture for the little baby. But we finally took her out to a park and played for a little while.

Camille and Jason had so much fun. I really need to take them out more. We went to this park that was a bunch of rocks to climb on. I think they would have liked it better if they were a little older, at least Jason anyway. Camille seemed to be pretty good climbing on everything. But I would help Jason climb up and he would jump into my arms. He thought it was pretty wonderful. I really love spending time with my kiddos.

I am hoping to hit up a couple more parks before the end of summer. And hopefully as Sadie gets a little older we will be able to do more and more. I love being able to stay home with these kiddos and spend my time with them. 

Sadie's Baby Blessing

Today our sweet Sadie was given a blessing by Kevin. We had gotten ready early this morning. Our church is at 1 o'clock but even though it is later in the day I still made everyone be ready almost an hour early so if people showed up to our house we would be ready. So everyone was ready to go. Well, of course we still didn't get to church until 12:58. We were almost late to our own party. Ha ha. But we got there with a little time to spare. When Brother Anderson stood up to welcome the congregation and announce the program he was so funny. He ended up  saying that there would be a baby blessing for SAD-ie (like the emotion sad) Anne (he got that right) Sanderson (not even our last name. Ha ha. The bishopric behind him all leaned forward and said, "Sadie!" It just made me laugh. Eventually he got it right, and we went on with the program, but it was something to remember.

Kevin gave the most beautiful blessing. He blessed her with so many blessings that will help her through her life. I recently have just been feeling so grateful to be married to someone who holds the priesthood. The power of God, here on earth, to be used for good. I feel so grateful for the blessings it brings to mine and my families life. And for a husband who served a mission and gained so much knowledge and a strong testimony while serving the Lord. I just feel so grateful.

We came home after sacrament and enjoyed the company of our family while eating Sandwiches. Sadie slept in her swing for the most part. It was perfect because people could come see her, but she wasn't crying. Camille and Jason cried most of the day on their blessings, so this was a nice surprise.

Sadie, we love you and are so grateful you are part of our family. You were so beautiful in your little dress and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you on this earth. You are going to be such a great impact for good. Love you forever.

Camille had been happy all day, until we took this picture

A Letter to Jason

Dear Jason,

I just have to apologize. I am just starting to get back into blogging so that we have a record for our family of what we have been doing. I am excited to do this, but as I am looking through pictures I know that I have missed so much. After you were born I didn't have a laptop to sit and blog on, so I didn't. But I missed writing down so much of what you did for the first two years of your life. I have a terrible memory and I know that you won't have as many stories because they were not written down, but I wanted to tell you that I love you and you have always been such a joy! So I am going to write down in this letter a little about the first two years of your life.

When you were about three months old you broke out in a terrible terrible rash. Head to toe you were just covered. It was so sad. Your pediatrician said that it was just baby acne (ugh...we did not like him) but I knew it had to be something else. I started cutting milk and bread out of my diet hoping that maybe you were having a reaction to one of those, and you started to clear up some. I wasn't sure which one you were reacting to so we took you to the allergist and got a scratch test done. You came back positive for having allergies to milk and eggs. Since I was still nursing you, I had to cut them out of my diet, but it was so worth it. You cleared up and stopped scratching so much. It made me so happy to see. Before we knew what was wrong we always had to keep socks on your hands so you wouldn't scratch your face and you would wake up in the middle of the night rubbing your head on your bed because it was so itchy. So I would come in and scratch your head. You loved having your head scratched.

You were such a mama's boy. You would just sit on my lap all day long. You had no motivation to crawl or walk because you were just content on my lap. Eventually you started crawling at 10 months, then a couple months after that started walking. Even now at 2.5 years old you still love me to hold you, and I love holding you when I am not holding Sadie.

You loved your pacifiers. You called them "rah-rahs". Even until you were 2 and could say pacifier, you just called them "rah-rahs". Another word that you couldn't pronounce when you were little was Camille. You just called her "coco". The nickname you gave her stuck. When she was born we said we were just going to call her Camille, no nicknames. But because of you we now often call her "Co" or "Coco".

We brought you home to our apartment in the Village when you were born and you lived there for the first 1.5 years of your life. We loved all of the people that we met at the Village and would say that so far in our lives, it has been our favorite place to live because of the good friends we met. That being said they were cinder block walls that were ancient. The vents were so full of dust and who knows what else. It was actually pretty disgusting. In turn, you were sick about every other month. I hope that since you were sick so often as a baby, that as you grow up your immune system will be extra strong and you won't get sick too often. Once we moved from there you stopped being sick so often, so I think something in that apartment was making you sick.

Once we figured out the allergy issues, you were actually a pretty chill little kid. Once we took a hike out around a little lake and you were in your stroller and you just hung out the whole time while Camille was running around and dropping rocks in.

 You were fairly serious when you were little. But when you smiled it would just melt my heart. You were the cutest little boy. I loved being able to be home with you and spend so much time with you. I wish that I would have written more each month about the progress you were making and the funny things you were saying, but I didn't. I love you Jason. I can't wait to see what kind of man you grow up to be. If you are anything like your dad you will turn out just fine.

Haderlie Campout 2018

I wrote a long paragraph about the Haderlie camp out, and then asked Kevin to write a little bit about the camp out this year (see below) and his paragraph was so much better than mine. I am sorry that I am the one writing this and not Kevin. He is much better at words and writing than I am. But you have me, so I guess you will just have to read my not so great writing. Here goes nothing....


Every year the Haderlies get together and do a camp out. There are 100+ people that come and it is always such a wonderful time. Every year Kevin and I have showed up around 4-ish instead of at 12 when you first can arrive. We always get the worst tent spot because we get there late. This year we decided we were going to get there right after noon, and we did! We got to pick a spot in the shade that was even kind of flat. It was so nice. Only two other people were there, and so we set up camp then went into Logan and got some Aggie Ice Cream. We got there and could hardly believe the line coming out of the building. We dragged all three kids up, and waiting in line for probably an hour, but we got our ice cream and enjoyed ourselves. By the time we got back to camp, a lot of people had set up their tents.

Camille and Jason had so much fun playing in the dirt and with cousins. I can hardly believe how dirty they were. But kids and dirt go together so well. Sadie slept better than Jason did. This is the second time we have taken her camping, and both times she has slept better than Jason. We are hoping to get Jason sleeping better on our next camping trip.  We had a couple of fun days filled with good food and good fun.

This is Kevin.  The camp out was a lot of fun this year.  One of my favorite parts that happens each year is the Saturday morning event where we tell stories about Grandma Elmina and Grandpa Conn.  The stories almost always revolve around food, hard work, service to others, etc.  As always, my dad tried to be the jokester when he speaks.  He is pretty funny I guess.  I really love the camp outs.  I feel like I hardly know half of my cousins.  I have been making it a point each year for the last couple of years to try to get to know my cousins better.  For instance, this year I spent nearly all of Friday night learning the names of cousins of mine.  It was a success.  I learned at least one person's name which is more than has happened at many other reunions.  Overall, I love my immediate and extended family and feel so privileged to be part of it.

Jenna again. See, I told you his writing is better than mine. I was back and forth taking care of kids during the time where everyone was telling stories, but what I heard made me wish I had known Grandpa Conn and Grandma Elmina. They sounded like wonderful people, and even though I have never met them, they seemed to come alive a little more to me during that time.

We had so much help with Sadie. Her cousins Hailey Culumber and Emmaline Haderlie were always so kind to hold her while I was eating. Kevin said that he would see Sadie with some random person, and think "well, she is probably okay if she is with family." but there were so many people who wanted to hold her, and I was so grateful for all of them.

Overall the camp out was a success. We love being with family and spending time unplugged from our phones and just being outside. The kids loved exploring and playing with so many cousins. We are already looking forward to next year!