Summer Lovin' Baby

It is finally heating up and we are loving it! We went to the pool 3 times this past week and plan to keep going back for more. Camryn has really started loving kicking around and splashing in the water. She has really started growing up. It is so crazy to think that she is 8 1/2 months old! She will be 1 before we know it!

She now has her two bottom teeth!

Loves feeding herself! I had a complete nervous break down the other day when she would no longer eat from a spoon, she only wanted to do it herself and made a complete and total mess of herself, her highchair and her new outfit! Once I got over the mess I saw that she just loves to do it and is so proud of herself. I have realized I am beginning to see the signs of her independence. Here she is eating cherries her summer favorite introduced by Uncle Chris and Aunt Lindsay in PC last week. She is now in 6-12 month clothes! Which means it is time to get rid of her 3-6 month clothes she has been wearing. In doing this she got a massive amount of new adorable clothes from Grandma Brenda. Who knew this next size up brought on so many more possibilities.I wish I could wear shorts like these! She just loves holding on to anything these days.

Check out this jean bum!!! Also notice the pillow in the background. It was my latest project. I think they turned out great!

Sometimes she thinks she is big and will try and balance with no hands so far she has done it for about 5 seconds. We definitely think she will be walking before she figures out crawling. All outfits made possible by Grandma Brenda! Thanks so much! We are glad no job has opened up yet so she can spend her free time spoiling our baby! (This wasn't even close to half of the stuff she brought up)

Latest from Us

We went to So You Think You Can Dance?! The day before I was leaving my parents Ryan texted and said that we got tickets to go see my all time favorite show! We had plans to leave for Utah the same night but I would not miss this for the world so we put our trip off for the next day. We invited our friends Dan and Heather to come with and I was glad to see they were just as psyched as I was! The tickets said to get there by 4:30 at the latest and it was extremely unfortunate to see that a line had already been started and that they were already letting people in! So I did what I do best...I figured out a way to get up to the front. I am not usually proud of this but in this case it was a do or die situation and I have no regrets! Did I mention that these weren't our tickets? They were our friend Cody's and he sent them overnight from Vegas along with his ID!!! Very legal. So not only did I cut in line but we were also using someone elses information. Luckily we cared the situation out flawlessly and it was just a matter of waiting to see if we were in or not. Apparently having tickets does not grauntee that you will get in. Word to the wise go really early if you can! So we got in but we were like the last people they lwt in so we were in the way back! Here is Ryan and Dan...just their backs, they only thing that was even shown throught the whole show! Ryan is in theBlack striped shirt and Dan is in the white shirt next to him; us girls are in front but you can't see us.

We didn't care though, it was awesome! I loved seeing the ins and outs to the show. It was great to see that the show is pretty much live expect for a few minor slip ups from Cat or the Judges. Cat is just as pretty in person but not as tall as she looks. She does however have ladies come out to touch up her make up and give her diet coke through a straw with an umbrella! So cute. Man I love this show! Here is Ryan and I re-invention of the Sonya dance where Melissa wore hot pink.

The next morning we woke up early to head out to Utah. When we got there we met up with Greg and Allice and their cute little Gus! He is so cute and it is so fun that he and Camryn are so close in age. We loved meeting up with them since they are living in South Carolina for another year.
The next day I headed to the Gateway to do some shopping while Ryan worked out some last minute details for his big HS reunion! Camryn loved watching the water show. She is such a good shopping partner.

Then we met up with our great friends Tim and Katie at the Cougareat! Yup the Cougareat! Tim is taking a class to help with the Bar at BYU and so that is where we met. Talk about some old memories. And we randomly ran into both of Ryan's brother on campus too! It was great to catch up with those guys and we are so happy they will be having their baby boy out by us! We also made sure we to tell Camryn that this is where she will be 18 years from now.

Since we were down in Provo I had Ryan get me a J Dawg. I don't normally like hot dogs but boy are these good!

Then we headed to Oakley with Mike and Lauren Foulger to this crazy little diner out in the middle of no where. Extremely quiant and cute, but my BLT came out with only lettuce and bread and everyone else's messed up in some way...poor Ruby. It was worth it to us since we try and get our fill of hanging out with friends since we don't have any near by at home. Lauren and Mike are so awesome, we hope they come visit us soon! Don't mind our not so great pic it was the timer.

Friday was a sunny day so we got out and for a long walk in Park City. This time of year makes me want to live up there; so GREEN!

Later on we met up with Tom and Alana, swung by the family picnic portion of the reunion and then visited with Ryan's Grandma in Tooele. Yes, we ate out a ton and saw so many people!

Then Saturday was the day! The stressful day arrived. Ryan was the Senior Class President (yeah, I am a little embarrassed) so he had to plan the whole thing. Luckily he had some great help from his officers. It turned out great and tons of people showed up and I think everyone had a good time. Thankfully I knew several couples and Mike Cunningham came to take pictures so I didn't feel completely out of water. These are some of Ryan's HS girlfriends. Just kidding and don't worry they are all happily married. It was really fun to see Ryan's relationships with everyone I wish I had that with half the amount of people at my school. Ryan's starvation I think really paid off doesn't he look great?! Ryan will be posting more of his reunion later on.

It was such a great trip I could have stayed longer but at least we were able to stop in St. George to visit Ryan's cousins Lou and Layth. They just bought a beautiful new house and made us a great dinner before we headed the rest of the way. We are excited for their baby boy to come and for many more visits with them! What is next for us? Stay tuned.

Cousin Visit

Finally after 5 months we got all the cousins together! I was able to go up to Northern California for a visit to my parent's house. Two out of the seven days I was there all the cousins were together! It was such a funny challenge getting all the kids to sit and look at the camera. But after jumping around and dancing for entertainment I think it turned out great! This will need another update in four more months when Chris and Lindsay have a baby girl (yes, another girl to add to the mix of boys)!

Camryn's two oldest cousins, Dylan and Jake. We took several of the boys bowling one afternoon and boy did they love it! These two boys just love Camryn. It was so fun to see the way they interacted with her they loved getting her to laugh and smile.

The two baby girls! Only 2 1/2 months apart! It was so great finally meeting Emma and she is just as cute in person as her pictures! She loved watching her cousin and we loved seeing what a sweet mellow baby she is. This picture is of us at Coloma. It is a cute old gold mining town. We had a lot of fun having a picnic, hiking and watching the kids wade through the American River.

We spent many days at the park and Camryn has really started loving the swing. I love this picture with Kyle next to her. It was so much fun getting to hang out with everyone and especially my sisters since we all were without our husbands. I was very sad to leave after a week while everyone else will be staying longer! However, I am very excited for this new tradition to reoccur every summer!

Before and After

I know that now is not a good time to be investing in any improvements in your house, but let's face it--we are going to be here awhile so we might as well enjoy it.

When Erica and I moved in we had 4 months to get our backyard landscaping in--even though the people behind us forclosed and now a new family is in there two years later and still there is only dirt, a disgusting pop-up tent with some rusty patio furniture and a pitbull that I want injure badly.

That being said, we did just the bare minmum in regards to landscape. Shortly after my Dad and I built a pergola and I put in a fountain. I tried to plant some trees and plants, but our soil I liken unto concrete. It took me over an hour to dig one hole and then the plant died shortly there after. We have successfully grown, in abundance, every specie of weed--some very exotic. We had a leak in one of our sprinklers that we didn't know about until one day I went to the side of the house and saw a tropical rainforest and marshland that was once a desert. Needless to say I was sick of our white trash yard and called some real landscapers to show us how it was done.

Before:

Here is a picture of this jasmine bush I planted that started falling over so I tied it up. We also attempted to plant some ground cover between those stepping stones. It was like we planted them in acid--they dried up and withered instantly.

Here is another one of my favorites. We planted these California Peppers, this little ambitious guy grew top heavy and fell over. I tied him up as well, but apparently he got tired and decided to rest casually against the fence. I'm sure the neighbors loved it. (notice the lonely fountain)

Here is the rainforest. This was the second time we weeded so it isn't as lush and tropical. All plants you see are weeks--I grew to love them a little.

AFTER!!!

This is more like it--who doesn't want to relax out here? Notice the light under the tree, they light up at night, and bongos and tropical music start to play--not really, but in my mind it does.

Our little Jasmine bush is lonely no more! These two bottle trees provide some great shade and privacy--sorry neighbors no more sneak peeks into our bathroom. Couple more lights, some friendly little bushes and a rock bed to make it look all clean and nice

All these plants were intentionally planted. That is a fruit cocktail tree that grows lemons, limes and oranges. Pretty fancy--I might even start drinking it's so cool. We need to add some more color back there, but this is a good start.

Here is a current view of the back yard. We added some bougainvillea, which we love and some other little plants. There is always more we want to do, but this is a great start and we actually want to be outside. Now we just have to figure out what to do about the pop up tent and pitbull.

My wife and baby are gone for a week so I have to post a pic of Cam in one of her favorite spots, the bathroom sink and looking in the mirror. I love that face.

She is kind of making a bird face here, but I love these blue eyes. The left one (her right) is a little darker than the right, I hope they stay like that.

Long Awaited Family Photos...From the One and Only Mike Cunningham!

Thanks Mike! You are awesome!