First Swim of the Season

It has just been so hot lately that my friend asked us to go swimming with her. The water doesn’t match the weather. It was so cold! We only played for about 30 minutes, most of the time I was tossing Tyler in the air. I didn't have enough time to take pictures of us actually in the pool. Stella just got out and wanted her towel, so I wrapped her up. Maybe we’ll wait another month before we try a non-heated pool again.

Stella is just shivering!

Justin loves Elmo!

Tyler is a brave swimmer and loves to be tossed into the pool!

Bill & Marci

Happy #17 Anniversary to Bill and Marci Southwick! I remember being SO EXTREMELY excited for their wedding in 1989. They were both at Ricks College and I was only 11 years old at the time, so I don’t remember much about the preparation except the crepes my family made weeks in advance for the reception. I heard something about ice cream in them, so I was really excited about those! I remember being so excited to be at the temple when they came out and excited to see Marci in her beautiful billowing dress! It was a very exciting day and I was so impressed with the reception even though there was pink splashed about. I was also very excited to be Marci’s bridesmaid in a beautiful pink dress and to have my hair French braided.

Marci is my oldest sister and since that very day that she got married, I tried to pattern my life after her. I even had the same major that she did in college! I’m so grateful for this unforgettable experience that they gave me which helped me make the right decisions in my own life. I had that goal of getting married in the temple because my beautiful sister did. That one decision has changed my whole life and I’m so grateful for their example! Happy Anniversary!

Tempe Beach Park

We've been planning this little outing to Tempe Beach Park for a month at the Mom's Group! It has been absolutely beautiful weather . . . until this day! It was pretty windy and although the kids had fun most of the time, it was pretty cold. Stella still hasn't been that interested in the amenities they have at the park, she prefers to chase the pigeons and refuses to let me take a good picture of her. We met another little girl named Stella there and then we went home to warm up!

Tyler and Justin

Stella and Stella . . . eating her apple

Stella chasing the pigeons . . . eating her apple

Connect Four

Stella beat me in Connect Four. I can be honest and say that I didn't mean to lose. You all know she's advanced for her age! She was black, I'm red.

Bed Shopping

For some reason, Stella has been crying when we put her to bed for about the last 2 months. It happened one night and we just thought it was because I got her hyper before I put her down. But she cried the next day for her nap, and then again that night and it just kept happening. She cried last night, but before that for the last 2 nights, she's gone to bed just fine.

She LOVED bed shopping on Saturday! Aunt Lindsay came over and we went to IKEA and then to USA Baby. I think we'll stick with IKEA.

She'd test out every bed I put her on by laying down and sucking her thumb and playing with her hair to see if it was comfortable.





She looked so small on all of the beds. Lately she will lay on the couch and act like it's her bed. I think we'll wait a little while before we actually purchase a bed for her, but I have lowered the railing on her crib to the lowest so that she can climb out without falling as far. Besides the other high railings, it just looks like a regular toddler bed. She won't climb out though. I think she's afraid to.








These are fun little stages that she's going through lately. She went potty in the toilet again yesterday and eats her lunch in a big-girl chair. A part of me is sad that she is already growing up, but a bigger part of me is so excited for the new things that she's learning! She's so much fun and so animated that I know she's excited about life and that makes me very happy!

Happy Birthday Becky!

I’m 5 days away from the day I met Becky in 1989 when Bill and Marci got married. I remember thinking that her and her sister Debbie should switch their names because she looked more like a Debbie than a Becky to me. I also remember Becky having a crush on my brother Jeff, who was about to go on a mission. I know that she wrote to him on his mission and the thing that really impressed me about Becky was that she also remembered my birthday every year and she’d send a birthday card.

I’ve never met anyone who takes as long to change a diaper as Becky. I used to watch her, fascinated that one could put a diaper on a child so perfectly. I’m not very observant, so I believe it was Elliot that pointed out to me how absolutely great Becky is. I only know a few people in my life that are as nice as Becky without being annoyingly nice. Becky is one of the best people I know and I am so grateful that she stuck around during Jeff’s mission to snatch him up afterwards! Happy Birthday Becky!

(I just noticed that she's holding a fish . . . no wonder Jeffrey loves her!)

Speak of the devil!

Didn't I just mention in my last post that I was thinking about getting a toddler bed for Stella? Well, yesterday morning she climbed/fell out of her crib. I heard the thump and crying and by the time I got to her door, she was opening it. She was pretty shaken up and cranky the rest of the day, but I think she's fine. She has a little carpet burn on her forhead and I think she hit her eye too because it's a little swollen. So Aunt Lindsay is on her way out today and we're going to go look for a bed for Stella. My little baby is growing up so fast!

I try to shower for the day before Stella wakes up so that I don't have to worry about what she's getting into. Sometimes I'll put her on my bed if she is awake because she is occupied for at least 7 minutes while I try to hurry. She LOVES lotion and must have some whenever I get some. She likes to rub it on her face and she can never get enough. This is what I came into this morning after my shower:

Stella Stuff

Stella still loves boxes. I'll find her sitting in a box, legs stretched out straight and reading a book. She's started actually "reading" the book instead of just looking at it. I think that we've read her books so often that she just knows the fluctuation of our voices and she tries to mimic it.


She also likes to hide things. She used to try to hide things in her armpit, but that obviously doesn't stay put for very long. She's discovered the wonders of a onsie and the multitude of items you can store in it until the next diaper change. I've found most of a peanut butter and jam sandwich, yesterday I found the meat from her taco, and here is a picture of her hiding her sippy.

Stella is becoming quite independent. I've been thinking about getting a new bed for her, but I'm not quite ready yet. I don't think she'll stay in it and I think sleep is just too precious right now. She is VERY interested in going to the bathroom and will bang on the door if we take too long. Occasionally she'll just tell us that she needs to go to the bathroom, and even though she's only peed once, I still let her sit on the toilet. I don't know if I'm ready for that either.


Stella informed me yesterday that she doesn't want to sit in her high chair anymore. I tried to put her in it for lunch and she threw a tantrum. She had just spent some time at a friend's house and they have a little kid table that they sit at. She really wanted to sit in a big chair, so I let her. She did a really good job sitting most of the time, but thinks she needs to get out of the chair every few minutes just to show me how little control I have over her.

She is getting better at saying words and getting better at sitting through a time-out. She likes to scoot around though, so I've started standing her up and face the wall. She got a time-out yesterday because I told her repeatedly to stop climbing on the computer desk. She's discovered Daddy's airplanes on the desk and wants to play with them. She loves airplanes (that's one of the words she can say), and she ended up knocking 2 of them over and breaking 1. She had to tell Daddy after he got home from work, but somehow I was the one that got in trouble for it! Wait a minute!









She also got into my purse yesterday and found the gum. She put about 3 pieces in her mouth and came out to show me and give me a piece. She was drooling so much, but was so happy to have it in her mouth!


And here is a great good morning to you! Have a great day!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We thought we would be able to go to church with Daddy because he cancelled all of his morning meetings, but we just can't keep him away from the church! He went an hour early to make sure everything was set up and to do his gospel study in peace. We enjoyed a great sacrament meeting with great speakers, including Elliot's comments. I was able to sit next to my sweetie during Gospel Doctrine, a class I haven't been to in about 5 years. I found myself distracted during Relief Society. My attention span is non-existent these days because of the many responsibilities I had in Primary. I was always checking on the Nursery and then singing the songs, and then shhing the kids and then updating the bulletin board and then talking to teachers and then singing the songs and laughing at the kids comments . . . there is just not much going on in Relief Society. I'm actually going to have to focus now.


Elliot helped with the tithing after church while I put Stella down for a nap and started my own. We were able to take a nap together for a while until we went to Elliot's parents for our Easter afternoon. Adam and Xan and the kids were there. I love that they get so excited to see Stella. Anabelle's squealing "STELLA" when she walked through the door makes me happy.


We took a long overdue whole family picture and individual family pictures. I've had Stella's Easter dress for about 2 months and it's so cute that I wanted to put her in it every Sunday! She got excited every time I showed it to her. My sister, Marci, just informed us that it snowed in Kimberly, Idaho yesterday, so I'm very grateful for the beautiful weather we were able to enjoy!

I played my final game of Boggle with Grandpa and Raymond. Grandpa informed everyone that it's not fun anymore because it's too easy to win when I play. There goes our bonding time. We enjoyed a lovely ham dinner with homemade rolls and then Bethany made some cookies that we immediately devoured.

I'm excited for my new opportunity to attend adult classes at church and to strengthen my testimony in a different way. I'm so grateful for the Primary songs which have helped me so much in learning and teaching the gospel. The gospel is simple and it makes me sing! Happy Easter!

Identification

I've updated some of my links to include Adam's new blog with the same name (One Great Thing), and his quote blog (The Shoulders of Giants). I've also identified which blog belongs to which blogger. Thanks for your comments on my blog. I look forward to those as much as I look forward to updating it!

New Calling

I got a new calling on Sunday. I'm the new Enrichment Leader . . . one of the top 3 callings I prayed I'd never have to experience . . . it's right up there with Gospel Doctrine Teacher and Relief Society President. I have a lot of concerns, all of which lead back to my self-confidence issues, but I know that I have a lot of people around me that are really talented and if I actually start listening to them, I might glean some fabulous activities out of them. I think I'm a little nervous about pulling myself out of my comfort zone, out from behind my spreadsheets and cute flyers. I'm a little afraid of coming out of my Primary room and letting the rest of the ward find out who I am. For some reason, people think that because I have a fabulous husband that is thoughtful and smart and funny and adorable and just absolutely wonderful, that a similar wife is somewhere in the mix. As far as I've seen, she's just the opposite. We have such a unique ward. My initial feelings are, of course, there are 20 other women who could do this better than me. I think this is the first calling that I haven't been excited about. I know I'll get to work with great and fun women in the Relief Society and I'm excited about that, but my nerves are getting the best of me. I have a few months to plan the first activity, so I'll be looking forward to your ideas and suggestions. Just make sure I'm focused and actually listening when you're telling me about them!

Beaver Creek Campout

Our family went camping this weekend with the rest of the bishopric and their families to a place called Beaver Creek just south of Sedona. It should really be called SKUNK CREEK! The first night Mike saw a skunk while we were finishing dinner, and then Emily heard some rustling around her camp so she made me go with her to check it out. We were flashing our lights all around and finally saw the skunk in their food box. Emily started freaking out and yelling "RUN, RUN!" The skunk ate some tortilla's, but was fairly scared off for the night.

Elliot's self-portrait

Elliot made Chocolate Lover's Delight for dessert in the dutch oven. It was so yummy that I made sure every last morsel of delight was in my belly. Stella was totally tired the first night, but got too excited about being in the tent and climbing all over Mom and Dad. She finally fell asleep, but woke up barfing what looked like hotdogs. She did that several times until finally Elliot gave her a blessing and she fell asleep the rest of the night. I didn't sleep at all because I was making sure Stella was OK and I was FREEZING! We were both really tired the next day.

On Friday morning, we had a yummy breakfast and went for a hike for several hours. It was a great walk and the kids even got their naps in. There was a sort of slide going down part of the path to the water area that Stella slid down several times. She calls it "wee". We had some snacks near the water area and the played in another water area to cool some feet.

Clark, Emily, Joseph, Travis, and Sammy Campbell

Stella on the "WEE"



Crystal, Dan, and Donovan Earl

Katie, Nathan, and Mike Harris (their mom, Lorielle, stayed in camp to take a nap)

By the end of the hike, the Campbell kids were just DONE! Clark, of course, wasn't walking, but Sammy didn't want to walk either. As soon as Travis picked him up, he was asleep. Joseph was having a hard time until I gave him my pedometer and made him try to guess how many steps there were until we got back to camp. He was so excited to find out that he was running back to camp.


We had lunch and then took a nap. Stella had a hard time falling asleep again, but finally got in about 45 minutes of sleep. We played near some water and then prepared for dinner. It always seems like these little outings with friends always center around food. Elliot gets really excited about doing dutch oven meals and there is always a plethora of marshmallows and chocolate bars. Brooke made banana boats (banana's with marshmallows and chocolate chips melted in them), and Emily and Travis made peach cobbler. Emily shoved a few chocolate pieces in mine . . . what a good friend.

We stayed up until 11:30 around the fire talking craziness and laughing. The skunks kept creeping near our camp and even gave Elliot the warning tail raise. The campground keeper said that if they start stomping their feet, that's when you've made them mad and they will spray you. She said that they are an accurate shot up to 15-20 feet. I guess I'm not really afriad of the animal, but I'm sure afraid of being sprayed, so I was not willing to walk anywhere by myself.

About 45 minutes after we went to bed, something made the skunk mad and it sprayed right near our tent. The question was, what made it mad? I think that made us more freaked out than the skunk.

Saturday morning we had another great breakfast and started the clean up. We played by the water again, Brooke, Emily, Katie, Nathan, Tyler and Joseph all got in the water. It was great to have Katie around because she likes Stella and would run around with her . . . our own little babysitter.

Sammy Campbell in his jammies and cowboy boots

We all got sunburned and then made the sleepy trip back home in the afternoon. I don't know how we're going to keep topping these bishopric activities each quarter.

Happy Birthday FATHER!

Happy Birthday to my father-in-law Kent! I remember how intimidated I was when I first met the Ka-Bish (Natalie’s nickname for him when we were in his singles ward). I remember he was really excited to meet some fellow farmers, but was soon disappointed . . . in me at least . . . when he found out that we didn’t really know the difference between a weed and an onion. When Elliot and I got married, I was still a little intimidated because I didn’t know what to call him . . . Bishop, Father, Kent . . . I just didn’t know. So my way of remedying that was to either not talk to him or wait until he was looking at me to speak. I remember testing the names out to see which was most comfortable for me, but it wasn’t until his small gesture of a side hug for some reason that just made all (or most) of the intimidation go away. It was either that or when he finally swore in front of me. I still switch between Kent and Father, but what I’ve learned in the past 7 years of knowing him is what a great, loving, generous, kind, and yes, extremely funny man he is. I still remember the tears in his eyes when we told him that we were pregnant with Stella on a Christmas morning a couple of years ago. I’ve sure enjoyed him, especially during a raucous game of Boggle, and love to see him enjoying his grandkids! Happy Birthday Kent . . . FATHER!

The Box

Stella's new little "area" is next to the computer desk in that box. She has all of her favorite things in it, including 2 babies, stickers, and several socks. Now if she could just get that stroller in there, it'd be complete.

Pretty Toes

Stella just wanted to be in my business when I was trying to watch General Conference last weekend. She did everything she could to get my attention, which is everything she knows she's not supposed to do. So finally I just got out some nail polish and painted her toenails for the first time. She LOVES IT! She'll bend straight over to get a closer look at them and will stick her foot in anyones face so they can see her pretty toes!