My sister had her 15 seconds of fame on her local news station. Check out the link to watch. It is the one at the bottom that says Tips on Hiding Holiday Gifts. She is the one that keeps her presents in the rubber maid container. CLICK HERE!
Okay Everyone,
One of my friends in Missouri has one of the best blogs ever! She has a knack for writing, and she is a great photographer and super crafty gal. She is having a Tutorial week on her blog that shoes some awesome make it yourself stuff. Right now she is doing a CELEBRATE banner. Check out her blog, and enjoy some "ME" time during the holidays. CLICK HERE!!
Anyone who lives in Arizooney. Superstition Ranch Market has pumpkins on sale 10 cents a pound. Buy up!
Here are some pictures of our summer adventure to the Grand Canyon. There is one picture of Cam and Emma at the Wind Caves, and the rest are at Slide Rock in Sedona. Enjoy. And yes, that look on my face is pure shock. The water was extremely cold! Emma has that scowl on her face because she hated getting cold and wet. She sat there with a towel around her the whole time we were there. 
Well after a long hiatus, I have decided that I should get back into things. We have since moved into our condo, and Cameron has started school. It still is darned hot here, and I am excited for the weather to cool down a little. Here are some of the things that we have been up to since we moved back to AZ. I will try to post fun pictures soon.
June was a fun month, because I was finally able to go and see the Grand Canyon. We first drove up to Sedona, and had some fun at Slide Rock. It was very, very cold and I got up the courage to jump off of the rock into the water. My Mother-In-Law also videotaped the expression on all of our faces as we first entered the water and went down the rocks. It was a lot of fun, and the view was great! We then headed out to our campground for the night at Meteor Crater outside of Flagstaff. It was a great campground with lots of room, and a great fire pit. I will have to say though, if we didn't have our kids with us, I would have enjoyed myself thoroughly. The kids did not sleep well due to it being so cold. They finally snuggled in with Cam and I, but the mattress started to lose some air, and I kept falling off the mattress. I finally gave up, and went to go sleep in the pickup truck.
It was a really bad night, but we then packed up and went to the lava tubes. I stayed behind with Brooks, Loa, Whitney and Bailey. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and we then officially headed to our campsite at the Grand Canyon. Our campsite was great! We each had our own little pad, and we had some really good food. Due to our rough night prior, we decided to change things up. I slept with Brooks so he would stay warm, and Cam had his own air mattress, and Emma had her own as well. All was good until about 3:00am. Emma decided that she wanted to get up and play. She was shivering the whole time that she was up, and I finally told her that I would take her on a walk and show her how dark it was. We walked for about 200 yards before she decided she wanted to go back to sleep.
The next day was great we walked all around, and it was so beautiful. The squirrels there are not shy in the least bit. We were also able to see some Condors. We then hit a place called the Watchtower. I thought that it had the best views of all. The tower itself was so cool. All in all it was a great trip, and I hope that we can do it again sometime.
The 4th of July was fun, and we had a good day of swimming, eating, and watching the fireworks. It was really low stress this year. We went to Apache Junction High School to watch the fireworks. We got there about a half an hour before it started and we got right in and had a great view! Brooks and Emma were enamored with the show.
We had a good summer. We have had the opportunity to do a lot of swimming and playing on toys inside of the mall. Emma is excited for Halloween, and I hope that she comes to love the holiday as much as I do.
I am sorry for the delay in posting. It hasn't been easy living with the In-Laws. First off, the computer is in their bedroom, so it doesn't make for easy accessibility. I won't be able to post any pictures, because our camera lens got some dirt in it from our camping trip, and so now the shutter won't open. We just need to find the time and or money to take it in and get it fixed. We have been having fun in AZ, and the weather hasn't been too terrible until this last week. We are now officially hitting the 105 and hotter temps, although I will take it over the humidity.
Here is just a little story from my little Emma. I swear the kid is going on 13. So Cam's parents had a free movie weekend with HBO, Starz and Encore. We taped anything we could get our hands on. Anyways, we recorded Ratatouille because Emma had never seen it before. So the movie started, and then after a little dialogue the scene broke and there was a pause before it picked up again. Well, during that pause she turned to Cam and said, "Not bad Dad." She is my little movie critic. Brooks is growing so well, and he can see fragments of the alphabet, he likes to moo like a cow, and he LOVES to be chased. I think the kids are hitting their limit with living and "Grams" and "Papa's" home. Last night Emma was asking me where her bed and toys went. That made me so sad. I know when we will be leaving here, but our kids don't. I tried to explain to Emma on a calendar when we would be finally in our new house. Hopefully it will help to countdown days.
Well that is about all I have for now. Hopefully I can steal a few moments again soon.
Hey all,
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. You are all probably sick of seeing the twilight spoof on my site. Anyways, I haven't had a lot of time lately due to packing. We are moving to AZ on Thursday, and our plane leaves at a sleepy 6:50 am. I should be pack to posting more soon, but for now here is something to tide you over.
My mom and sisters minus Lyns came out to see me, and we had a blast! My mom was really glad that they Sky Tram was sold out. I don't think she wanted to go up in that thing.
It was soooo windy that day, but I thought we had some fun. My nephew Taggart was such a doll. I loved spending time with him. Good Times.
See ya soon posting from the great ol' state of Arizony.
Sorry for the delay in posting, and sorry for the length of this post. I think it is interesting but then again, it is my life. So read on my friends, read on. On our anniversary, our computer crashed. The motherboard pretty much fried. We were however able to get a really cheap computer at an auction, and just had someone put in all of our good leftovers into the new computer. It now of course is back up and running. Just a couple of things to sum up the last couple of weeks.
Brooks has learned another word on top of Uh Oh. It is no. Yep no. He just started saying it last night and then again this morning. I can't believe how big he is. He is walking better now, and is content to sit and play for hours. He is also a good eater. For breakfast he usually eats two packets of instant oatmeal, and just today he ate 3 pancakes. I love that he is a good eater most of the time.
Cameron was accepted to Arizona State University. Yipeeeee!!!! We are of course extremely happy. It was the program he wanted plus of course there is the added perk of having Cam's family there. We also will be in a more reasonable driving distance to my family as well. I really miss them. I am also excited for normal malls a Michael's and fabric stores that are on hand. Also I am excited about the fact that I will be able to eat at Wendy's again. Small little thing, but I love that place.
I am going to miss good ol' St. Louis. St. Louis hasn't been that kind to us. The coupe de gras was about two weeks ago when Cameron was severed from his job. He is getting a severance, but it is only until the middle of May. It is funny how life works. We came to St. Louis excited about a new position and the prospect of Cameron climbing the corporate ladder. We had such high hopes and it seems the moment we stepped off of the plane it all fell apart. I am glad however of the decision Cam's made to go back to school. I believe that this is what he needs to be doing. I will miss all of the free things to do here. The zoo, botanical gardens, the parks, the Magic House, etc... I am also going to miss some of the wonderful people that I have gotten to know during my time here. I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with some of them.
I hope to post soon again. These next three weeks are going to be incredibly crazy. I hope that you are all looking forward to Easter. I know I am, and Emma thinks the Easter bunny is like Santa. I guess he is, but it has been interesting telling her about him. Well, I am off to clean my house.
Well, how do you sum up 9 years of marriage? I am going to try to do a little recap of our Topsy turvy tumultuous marriage so far.
1999
July 22nd-Cameron set his eyes on me for the first time in Chester, Idaho. I am from Sugar City and the population back then was 1,242.
July 26th-First kiss in the parking lot of an apartment complex at Ricks College. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers. The thing was, is that I forgot to put my number on the piece of paper, so Cam thought that I was just a playa'.
August 2nd-I wrote Cam a letter because I hadn't heard from him, and I kind of laid all of my cards out there for him. Oh, and I put my phone number at the end of the letter.
August 5th-Cam called me for the first time.
October 1st-4th-I met Cam's family for the first time, and we got engaged that weekend. Just so everyone is aware, I had only seen Cam one other time prior to this weekend. Can anyone say CRAZY????
December 28th-I moved to Arizona to date Cam. Good idea ya? I moved in with is 81 year old grandmother, and to tell you the truth it didn't go as smoothly as we all hoped.
January 22nd-I moved in with one of my Mother-In-Laws good friends, and they had a daughter that was around my age as well and we became roomies.
March 11th-Sealed for Time and all Eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple. It was a balmy 23 degrees, and snowing. After the ceremony, we had some time to kill before the luncheon. So in the spirit of making one of the biggest decisions of your life, we went to the mall with Cam's best friend James and looked at RV's. Now, I don't know about you, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that that never ever happens to my children. What in the world were we thinking? Gotta say though, loved my dress, the cake, Cam's tux, the refreshments (though I don't think we ever had any), and my wonderful, wonderful honeymoon. Thanks Mom and Dad for making it a good day. Also, thanks to Rod and Loa for making it a great day again for the Arizona reception. Loved them both!
Well, since that point we have had financially complicated marriage. I would rather have this trial in life than about a billion others. We will slay this dragon and move on, but I dream of a nice little house with a fenced in yard. Is that too much to ask? Anyways, I love my hubby so, so much and he has been my rock for as long as I can remember. He is a tightwad, he let me cry and vent when we couldn't get pregnant and I had to sit through baby blessing after baby blessing. He has the most amazing rear end! I know, I know. Hey, I have to state the obvious right? He is good with our children, and instills the fear into them that should be there. Who wasn't afraid of their father? He tries so, so hard to be happy with what he does and hopefully in the end it will also bring us some income. I couldn't imagine spending nine years with anyone else, and I will love you for eternity.
Happy Anniversary Cam!
Totally random picture I know, but this just is one of my favorite pictures.
I don't know how many of you watch the Amazing Race, but since we are already into another season, I have to share with you one of my favorite moments of watching the show. Enjoy, and laugh your bum off!
I have to admit that I have watched so many seasons of The Bachelor. I decided that this season I wasn't going to watch because he never seems to pick the girl that I want, and for the also obvious reason that they never stay together. I did decide however to watch the last couple of minutes of the finale, and also stuck around for the After The Rose special. I have to say, that these things just get more and more ridiculous ever single time that they are on. Pretty soon they are going to run out of ideas on how to create drama and they are going to end up with the first bi-sexual bachelor or bachelorette. It is just sad that anyone would agree to be on the show after watching season after season of failure. Well ya know, I guess it isn't all that surprising in today's world. Well that is my rant. I included a video from You-tube in case you missed all the drama. Enjoy!
Sorry, but this post is going to have a lot of pictures and a couple of videos. These obviously are mainly for the grandparents. Well, my sweet little baby turned 1 today. I can't believe that time has gone by this quickly. I feel badly that we weren't able to make it a bigger deal than it was, but of course he was okay with it. We went to Chuck E Cheese last night, and he chowed down on pizza and even got a little taste of the good stuff. What is the good stuff you say? Dr. Pepper! He liked it, but the carbonation was a little much. It was funny to see he reaction every time. He rode on the carousel, clifford, the Chuck E Cheese car, and we even got our family in a sketch. It was fun, but a late night for both of them. He also took he first steps yesterday. Our goal is to have him walking by the time Grandma Bean comes to visit in April. I am very excited to see my Mom and my sisters. Although, my little sister Lynsey won't be able to come. I promise I will see you soon Lyns. All in all I think he had a good day, and thanks so much to the grandparents for all the wonderful stuff you sent. 
My friend Emily had this on her blog, and I thought it was a neat idea. I am enjoying all of them. For any of you that don't know, I am a multiple book reader. I like to read more than one book at a time. Ask my mom, she knows. I have always loved books, and I have handed that love down to my daughter. This is her in her fort or "fork" as she calls it. How cute! Let me know what your reading.
Well, I offically have a toddler. Emma turned 3 on February 5th, and we just had a small party (Thanks to Cam for helping to not go overboard) with some of Emma's friends and their parents. I have a really good friend from Idaho that live in Missouri as well, and she drove about an hour and a half to come to the party with her cutie little girl Aubrey. My parents also decided to view the festivities via webcam. Hope that had a little bit of fun. She got lots of really great stuff, and I appreciate everyone coming out on a weeknight. To ring in her birthday, Emma is getting 4 new teeth. So just one last set of molars, and we are done! I wish I could say the same for Brooks who is in the process of cutting 4 teeth. Don't you just wish you were me?
First off, we had a kickin snow storm a couple of weeks ago and I would say we got a couple of feet. Unfortunately, it was not snowman snow. Emma couldn't understand why we just couldn't roll up the snow and make a gigantic snowman. I think she excepted my explanation, because she moved right on to her second task which was to make snow angels. Now Emma has never played in the snow before, so as soon as I told her she needed to lay down she freaked out. She eventually relaxed, and she then proceeded to make snow angels wherever there was a space. It was pretty fun, but we got pretty cold. Of course the snow right now is gone, and yesterday we boasted temperatures into the 60's. That is crazy St. Louis for ya.
Next, My sister gave this outfit to Emma for Christmas and I tried to take her picture while she was looking really cute. I have to say that I don't know how professional photographers get the shots they do with kids. I tried to get her to hold still, but alas here are some of the better pictures. Also, Emma is singing a song that she learned from Dora the Explorer. It goes like this. "Arriba up, Abaho down, Abre open, Cerra closed. I speak spanish and english too, I like them both how about you."
Well, it is sad to say that the Cardinals lost the Superbowl. We were all a little sad around here, and tears where shed (Just kidding). It really was a great game, and the Cardinals just couldn't hold onto it. We had a great party at our house, and we had quite the spread. It was a great time, and here are a couple of pics.
Well it was an exciting time at the Owens home on Sunday afternoon. We had just gotten over the 24 hour bug at our house, and Sunday was the recovery day. If any of you have ever watched a game with Cam, then you will know what a die hard fan he truly is. I think that he scared our poor kids to death with all of the jumping, screaming, and yelling at the t.v. Never a dull moment at the Owens home when there is a game on. Every year Cam watches the Cardinals and every year he just about swears them off for good. This year has been a great year for him. I am sad that he couldn't be there to watch the big game in Arizona with his Dad and brothers. We are however going to be having a kickin super bowl party so all are invited. Here is a video of some highlights of the Cardinals big year. Honey, I love you and I am glad that you finally can cheer for your team with pride. GO CARDINALS!
Sorry it has been so long everyone. This is going to be a LONG post, so brace yourself. Things have been a little hectic.
After Christmas, we started to pack to move to our new apartment. I was doing pretty well with the packing until one day I was running down the hall after Emma, and I hit my foot on the side of a box. Now you are probably thinking to yourself, "I have done that tons of times where is this story going?" I will tell you. I broke my toes when I kicked that box. The littlest toe on my left foot was totally going the opposite direction. I was in quite a bit of pain, and had no idea how to proceed. I called Cam and he just told me to put it back myself. I tried to move it, and I heard more cracking. At that point I decided to go to the doctor. I called a friend who so graciously agreed to watch my two kiddles while I went to the ER. Before I left I called a surgeon in my ward and left him a message to see if maybe he would do it for me instead of me having to wait in the ER for a procedure that would only take like 5 minutes to do. He didn't return my call, so when I got to my friends house she called an ear, nose, and throat doctor that was in our ward as well to see if maybe he would come over and fix my toe. He agreed, and my friend Emily let me chill at her house until he came over. Once he got there, I was extremly nervous. I knew what was going to happen, and I new it was going to hurt. He felt bad as well, because he said that they normally give anesthetic to do this kinds of thing. I just covered my face with my hands, and he jerked that sucker into place while I tried not to scream so I wouldn't scare the kids. He did a good job though, because now it is looking great. Needless to say, this all happened a couple of days before the move. Cam was a trooper and pretty much packed up the rest of the house. We had 8 guys from the ward come over and help us move, so that was a blessing as well because I just pretty much sat back and watched.
Well we are in now, and my life is getting back to a routine. I have started to watch a little boy from 6:30am-12:00pm, and it is working out well. Now that you have listened to my fun story, here are some pics. They aren't that great, but you will get the idea.
