My Favorite Part

Parker is eleven months today and, no, he isn't crawling yet.

I know, right?

He does, however, have his own method of getting around. He gets on his hands and knees (sometimes even his hands and feet if he wants BIG results) and places his bum to one side and sits. Getting on his hands and knees again, he tilts his bum to the other side, each time moving closer and closer to a desired object. This process is repeated until he manages to reach a predetermined area or toy.
It doesn't seem that he could be able to move that quickly like this, but believe me... he has this move down. He can cross the room like THAT!

Other goings on in our household include the fact that Cam survived his first full week of teaching. And he still wants to be a teacher! Whew! Was I relieved! His class of 31 students hasn't given him too much grief.
I asked him what his favorite part about being a teacher is, and his response was: "I like when a student doesn't understand something and I go over to help them and explain things to them, and then a few minutes later, they're like, 'Oh! I get it!'"

I thought it was a good reason.

I was, in turn, asked by Cam what my favorite part about being a stay-at-home mom was. In truth... I couldn't really think of anything right away. And the only thing I told him was, "I like having my own schedule. I have stuff to do, but I'm not pressured too much into completing them at a certain time."

Seriously?! That's my FAVORITE part? I gotta do better than that.

So... I thought about it. A lot. What IS my favorite part about being a stay-at-home mom? While I was thinking, Parker pushed his toys away and climbed onto my lap, grinning and showing only four teeth. I smiled back and picked him up, realizing (and it should have been obvious) that Parker is my favorite part about being a stay-at-home mom. He smiles crookedly as he tries to line up his new teeth, he laughs at the simplest things, and he talks to himself while he plays in the living room. He cries and fusses, but that's every baby. Despite the fact that he is only eleven months old, he and I actually have fun together. Who'da thought a 23 year old could have fun with someone so young?

I love being a stay-at-home mom. It has it's challenges, but that's up to me to fix. And I can. I love my hubby, Cam, and all the hard work he puts into teaching and providing for our family. I love the fact that he is such a FANTASTIC father. Not only do I love it when Daddy comes home, but Parker does, too. He reaches out for Cam, squealing and waiting for him to pick him up and toss him in the air. If Cam disappears into the bathroom before Parker gets his turn, prepare yourself: Parker may throw a fit.

I love my boys! That's my favorite part about... about everything!

It's Always Fun When Family Comes...

This weekend my brother, Devin, and his wife, Jessica, made the 3 hour drive to Cedar City, and spent some time with us. We are so grateful to them for making the journey, and for letting us drag them all over Cedar having fun with us. Well... WE thought it was fun. Hopefully they did, too.

They arrived in Cedar Friday night, which turned into one of those "stay-up-really-late-and-chat" nights. I love those!

On Saturday, we hiked Kannarraville Falls; the hike was supposed to be a ward activity, but ended up being us and Parker, Devin and Jessica, Burke and Teresa Bess with their son, Hinckley, and Ken and Kim Richards, some friends in our ward. It was fun, nonetheless!

(From left to right) Teresa, Burke, Hinckley, Jessica, Devin, Me, Parker, and Cam

Thanks to Burke and Teresa, we were able to tote Parker around in style. :)



Parker decided that he didn't like the waterfall.

Toward the end, Parker got so tired...

...and eventually went right to sleep.

Later that day, the four of us played Frisbee Golf, then cooled off with some Golden Spoon frozen yogurt. The day ended by helping Carissa move into her new house/apartment and then dinner and dessert while watching Tangled.

Devin and Jessica left after Sunday dinner. We love when family comes to spend time with us, and we're so glad they made the trip to do so! We're happy that Carissa moved down here, too, for her Sophomore year of college at SUU. We'll be seeing a lot of her... again. And we're excited, believe you me!

Ready Or Not... Summer is Over!

I could blame the lack of blog postings on a busy summer and... well, in truth it has been. But I'm not saying that there have been days so busy that I couldn't have posted because I could have easily sat down on Sundays (like today) and updated the blog. Consequentially, I am about to splatter all of our summer activities onto the Internet in the most delicate way possible--delicately splatter... hm...

The summer started off with the wedding of my brother, Devin, to his gorgeous bride, Jessica, on May 21st. After a day of gathering at the temple, and having a reception at Jessica's parents' home, all the girls were giddy, and wanted to relive the day.
Parker, however, was the orneriest he has ever been, meeting so many people, getting sunburned, breaking out in rashes after eating too many new, exciting foods, and--oh! his first tooth decided to break through that day. Not the best of weekends for the li'l guy. But for the rest of the family, it was one of the happiest.

On June 4th, Cam and I participated in a 5K Mudrun with our cousins, Ryan and Beckie, and their son, Devon. From sliding through the mud underneath a wire fence to being baptized in muddy water as we went over and under railroad ties, it was one of the events that made our summer!

Later that day, the family gathered at the Cedar City airport to bid farewell to Cam's brother, Marc, who is serving in Iraq. It was a powerful reminder to me of how important and how wonderful family is.

Events such as our 3rd wedding anniversary in June, watching fireworks with the family, participating in 24th of July talent shows, ward campouts and hikes, and having family come spend time with us have occupied our summer. I also ran the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon in July, and, let me just say, that it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. There's nothing like a scenic, downhill, 13.1 mile run early in the morning. Emphasis on the "downhill" part.

Cam worked in Panguitch all week, every week this summer, so Parker and I were only able to be with our beloved husband/father on the weekends. He made good money so we're not complaining. Now, he is getting ready to teach 5th grade at Iron Springs Elementary. The last two weeks have been nothing but trainings, lesson plans, bulletin boards, name tags, and every other "make-school-as-fun-as-possible-for-the-kiddies" thing you can think of.

We are looking forward to time spent with friends and family, and watching each other learn and grow as we go through and support each other in new experiences. As far as new experiences go, Cam was set apart today as Elders' Quorum President, which will be an adventure for sure. We also look forward to watching our li'l Parkster grow--he'll be ONE next month!

There you have it: a delicacy platter of summer activities. Er, a delicate splatter of summer activities. Take your pick, but whatever you choose, I'll post more often in the future.