Sam graduates and Camille turns 9.

Just before the beginning of freedom for all of the kids, we celebrated two important things.

Sam graduated from elementary school. My 6th grader is moving on to Jr. Highschool. What? I find this change hard to accept and scary. I can't help my feelings of apprehension, I want to take him back and forth one million times from preschool, all over again. Why must they grow? I used to think that the principle of opposition in all things was applied to only good and evil. As time marchs on, I see that opposition is also present in the bittersweet. The inevitable changes that are before us in this life, that can be beautiful and so sad at the same time. Sam grows and he moves and he learns, the hands of time can not be stopped....but neither can my love, my love for him will never change. We're proud of you Sam!

Camille is 9 years old. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was posting on her baptism? Camille wanted Shepherd's pie for dinner, and that is what she got. This seems to be a favorite with all of the kids in our family. Camille got a lemon cake too, and some very girly presents....to fit in perfectly with the little girly threesome that is imagining around our house every time they are together. Lauren, Camille, and Heidi. The girls group. We are very grateful that Camille is in our family. Camille is a fun loving kid like no other. This girl will have fun with any group of kids anywhere. She's the perpetual clown and loves to make other people laugh. She is upbeat and versatile, she plays with the girls like a champ. Camille is very bright and observant. She is a good sister. I am still getting to know Camille, but from what I see, I really love her and we are very grateful she is in our family. I know Heidi would never be the same without her Camille, she adores her as a sister and a friend. We love you Mills!

Lake Powell and some fiascos

We recently went to Lake Powell as a family. This was a last ditch effort at a family vacation before our little one comes! Here I am 3 weeks from my due date and taking the kids to Lake Powell...my friends and family think it's kind of crazy, but we had a lot of fun!

Among the fun things were: a day on the lake in a boat..the kids tubed and Ivy and Josh got the prize for staying on the tube the longest! We saw lots of wildlife, jack rabbits and lizards and ants! The kids loved the wildlife, I have about 100 pictures on my camera to prove it. We played on the beach and the kids made a really awesome mud castle that took hours. Here is a picture of the finished product. We collected shells on the beach for hours, and are making frames out of our shells to frame a picture from the trip. We played lots of card games, especially one Dustin made up, the kids loved the new card game. I beat the tar out of all of the kids at Blokus. That is not me taking advantage of poor innocent children that have never played the game, it's my sheer expert-ness! JK.

We were lucky to have borrowed my parents camping trailer for the trip....which was a double edged sword. The trailer made our daddy a grouchy camper at times, but this was understandable and we can laugh about it now for sure. The Tahoe's battery died twice and we had a blow out on the trailer tire while on the road home. We couldn't empty the sewer from the trailer because we're clueless...and these were just a few of the fiascos. Oh, and we ran out of gas on the freeway...that was fun. Amid these crazy times, we did manage to have a great time and are thankful for the fun and for the family!

Oh, did I mention that the kids were dangling their feet over a 700 foot drop ledge when we caught up with them on the trail to horseshoe lookout? The craziness of a large family...should this be laughed at? Only later, over Sunday dinner and many weeks later! Hah hah.