The windy city

  On Day 1 of our traveling adventures we picked up Cameron from work at noon and began our trek to Boise, Idaho.  Our resting place for the night. 
   The most fun to be had was at a rest stop in Idaho, in the middle of nowhere.   Whoever said Chicago was "the windy city" has obviously not been to this rest stop. 
   It was dinner time, so we decided to pull out our picnic and eat under the sheltered pavilion.  Little did we know that our entire dinner time would be spent weighing down our plates, napkins, and other food items as well as chasing our plates, napkins, and other food items because of the wind.  It wasn't long before we understood why we were the only ones utilizing the tables...many were enjoying their dinners in a windless environment, their cars.
   The pictures do not do the wind justice but please notice the girl's wind-blown hair.  I would have loved to have captured the "damage" of the wind but I was too busy chasing our dinner so these will have to do!

                                                                   (Kaitlyn)

                                                              (Ella and Cambri)

At the end of the day we were grateful to arrive in Boise without any casualties from the wind and better yet, we ALL made it alive, even after the long car ride.  Good thing because there would be much more driving ahead of us, we had only just begun!

The Living Scriptures

Every night before we put the girls to bed we sit down as a family to read from the Book of Mormon. As of lately, Cambri has really been applying what she learns to her everyday living. Here are two examples:
1. To set the stage, I was changing Kaitlyn's diaper while Cambri and Ella were "playing" in their bedroom. Ella began crying so I called the girls in to see what was going on.

Me: "What happened girls? Why is Ella crying?"
Ella: "Cambee hit me."
Cambri: "No, no, no. I didn't hit her. I whipped her because she was a Lamanite"
Me: "Ella is not a Lamanite. She is your sister. Please don't do that again."

*NOTE: Cambri did not really "whip" Ella.

2. Cambri was sitting on the couch looking at books while Ella was running back and forth between the couch and the hallway, being noisy. Eventually Cambri was getting bothered and asked Ella to stop. Ella continued.

Cambri: "No Ella, stop! Go and sin no more"

Most nights when we sit to read we do not have everyone's full attention so I was happy to know Cambri is catching on. She may not have it down pat but she is indeed learning and finding ways to use that knowledge everyday.

Haircut

You would have thought gum in the hair was enough for one week but......it isn't. The gum episode happened last Wednesday and the very next morning our sweet little Ella had her FIRST haircut. It was the cheapest and quickest haircut ever. The stylist to thank for such great service, Cambri. :) I can't blame Cambri because we have let Ella's bangs grow a bit too long and she is in great need of a little trim.
Just like our gum incident, it could have been much worse.
Cambri received a bunch of crafting supplies for her birthday which she loves AND we, as her parents love. One of her newest supplies was a small pair of scissors. Her new fascination has been cutting paper and ribbon into the smallest pieces possible. That morning, she had been working on some "art" in her room while Ella and I were in the Living Room. Cambri walked out with her scissors (which I did not know at the time), over to Ella, picked up some hair and ***chop***. Thankfully, I caught her in the action and numerous clumps of hair were not removed, just one.
Ella's face was priceless. She looked at her hair that had fallen on her clothes with puzzlement, bewilderment, shock, surprise, sadness, etc. Just about every emotion, was expressed across her face.
Unfortunately I do not have pictures to show. It actually took me awhile to even find where Cambri had made the cut, up at the top of Ella's head. With the amount of hair that girl has, I suppose she can afford to lose a chunk on occasion. The only time you may notice her haircut is when she wears pigtails because her 'shorties' stick out.
I knew it was bound to happen. I think every girl has a desire to be a hair stylist/beautician at some point in their life. For a few that does not occur until later in life but for the majority it occurs in the early years of childhood, which is ever so unfortunate for the mothers and the victim.
Just for the record, Cambri is temporarily band from scissors so you will not be hearing any snipping at this place!

One Hot Little Lady

First, I must say, you do not realize how much you will miss something until it is gone. Boy is that ever true! Little miss Ella woke up early, early Friday morning with a temperature of 103 and that is when it all began. She is still battling this supposed "virus" which means there is little we can do (other than pump her full of motrin). She went to the doctor Friday afternoon after waking from a nap with a temp of 106. Talk about hot! They ruled out ear infections, strep throat, a UTI, and strep throat, leaving us with the diagnosis of a viral infection.
It breaks my heart to see her this way. She was and has been so uncomfortable---little to no appetite, sleepier than ever, not wanting to play/interact, and not thrilled about drinking liquids. In fact, she would not even eat her all-time favorite food...CHEESE. Every time she hears that word she can be found hightailing it to the kitchen, saying "cheese" with such excitement, but not the past two days.
I just want my little Ella back. Although I do not mind the cuddles that accompany caring for a sick child, I miss her. I miss her smiles, her laughs, how quickly she will guzzle down a cup of water, her waiting by the fridge for cheese, getting into all of my cupboards, hearing the patter of her feet as she runs down the hall, feeding her in her highchair, seeing her big, bright blue eyes, etc.
We love and miss you Ella and hope you will fight off this nasty bug fast! It is no fun seeing you this way!

Here Comes the Sun

After many long days of low temperatures and clouds, the sun has finally decided to make its grand appearance this weekend and I must say we LOVED it. Every minute of it. On Saturday we went strawberry picking, which was a first for Cambri. She enjoyed the picking for a few minutes and then decided walking up and down the rows, and watching others pick was much more satisfying. Ella, on the other hand did not have the freedom to walk around (we are working on the walking thing) so she was strapped in a Snugli. The Snugli, may not have been the best option for her as I had to bend over to look for and pick the strawberries. After a short time she noticed the leaves of the strawberry plants and would try to swipe a few...being successful a few times. Needless to say, picking strawberries this year took a significant amount of time, with Cambri trying to explore the fields, Ella trying to destroy the crop, and two parents trying to pick strawberries while monitoring the kids. This particular farm, Casale Farm, had just opened a few days earlier and had a very wet season with very little sunshine. With me not being familiar with Oregon strawberries(their taste, color, size, etc.) and their climate needs I was a little unsure what to expect when we went to the farm. There was not a tremendous amount of "ready-to-pick" strawberries but we managed to walk away with 5 lbs.....just enough for eating. I think we will give it another try in a few weeks when the strawberries are in full swing.

Once we finished our Saturday run-around, which included the farm, shoe store, Mattress World, and grabbing a bite to eat we came home and made an attempt at getting our girls down for their naps. When we were unsuccessful, rather than try again and waste away a perfectly good swimming day, we lathered on the sunscreen, threw on our bathing suits, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

What a perfect Saturday!!!