The Camp Corner

Saturday, July 07, 2012

One more post...cookies with Daddy

Elena has been kind enough to let me have some one on one (or one on five) time with the kids. Yesterday we made cookies. Outfits are courtesy of my mom, Gram E.

Posted from my phone, so please excuse any typos or weirdness.

When Dad is in charge of breakfast...

Here is what happens when Brandon is left in charge of breakfast.

Friday, July 06, 2012

McKinley Marian Camp

Our precious new addition!!!

McKinley Marian Camp

Born June 20th 2012

19 1/2 Inches long

9 lbs 4 oz

Here is the CRAZY family you were born into!

Kamryn absolutely loves you Kinley. She holds you and calls you "my tinny" and sings and dances for you.

Colby did not want to hold you at the hospital until I helped him, (Check it out in the collage) now I think he wants to hold you and snuggle you more than anyone else. He likes to say that you are TOO cute!

Parker was dying to hold you at the hospital, but once we got home he was a little sad to loose some of mom's attention. But since Parker kissed you to make you happy he has thought you were pretty great.

Dallin loves to hold you, feed you bottles and can't wait for me to let him pick you up by himself! He loves to show you off to his friends. He is very proud of his now baby sister.

Brooklyn also loves you to pieces and is such a great helper. She loves to hold you while mom is taking care of the other kids. She is also anxiously waiting for the day I let her pick you up or stand up with you.

Dad loves to snuggle you! He often gets in trouble for just snuggling you when he is supposed to be burping you!

Mom loves you and all the snuggle time we have been able to have (thanks to Dad, Grandma and Grandpa for taking the other kids so much!!!). I love to watch your brothers and sisters hold you, but truth be told I can't wait for them to give you back! You have been a good baby, except for the part that you are having a hard time eating. You only gained 2 oz since we left the hospital, so we are working on that, and getting your tongue checked out (you may need it clipped like the twins) And hopefully you will be in a much better place by week 3 of your life.

Grandpa Rand LOVES babies! I don't think he has held you as much as he would like. He likes to call you Marian too. He looks at you (like all the other kids too) and appreciates all the little things about you. I think your hair stands out the most!

Grandma Marian also loves her little Mini Marian. She started to cry when I told her we were naming you McKinley Marian. I think Grandma and Grandpa need some more holding time (the Texas Allison family and Cami and Lauren have all been in town and there just isn't enough baby to go around! You are a wanted baby!)

Here is your welcome home sign thanks to Brooklyn and your other siblings!

You are loved! And we are all so happy to have your sweet spirit in our home!!!.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Camp Family Christmas Blog Post

At the end of November every year, Elena and I have the same conversation. It usually starts around Thanksgiving and ends around Christmas. It is becoming a new Christmas tradition.

We start to receive Christmas cards and letters and then Elena will suggest that this year we really need to do one. She usually suggests this while two children are clinging to her legs and another child is in her arms, so a sense of chivalry usually wells up inside of me and I offer to take on the task. The fact that I have committed to doing the Christmas letter the past few years and never pulled through doesn't seem to factor into my decision.

As the days turn into weeks, I still intend to write the glowing Christmas letter about all the wonderful things that have happened to our beautiful little family, with glowing thoughts about each child and the progress they have made, and each day the tasks seems too daunting and I think to myself, "Tomorrow will be much better." Don't judge...we have all been there...

Well, it is now 6:17 AM on Christmas day. Much too late to send out a cute picture and a letter. However, this year, I have decided to put a stop to the pattern, and have decided that this is a small gift I can give to the woman I love more than words can express. So for those that are interested, here are some highlights from our life this year. For those that aren't, I hope you at least enjoy the pictures :).

Brandon - A Life Abroad:

The biggest change for me in 2011 had to do with work. I'm still at Ancestry.com and am loving every minute. At the beginning of the year I was contentedly working on the Business Intelligence team trying to have an impact and make my mark within the company. Around March, the VP of Analytics and Finance approached me and indicated they felt I was the guy to re-implement our Web Analytics solution (Omniture SiteCatalsyt) and asked if I was up for the challenge. I hesitantly accepted the position with some reservations, and received assurances that this was going to be a short term assignment (12 months) with the opportunity to return to the Business Intelligence team at the end of the stint. In July, I was approached again and asked to also take on the re-implementation of our A/B testing software (Omniture Test&Target). I decided to take on that project as well.

Since then I have fallen in love with the position and all that it entails. I now manage a small team and we are having an impact on how the business runs. I have been involved with testing different pricing and packaging on the website, a revamped home page, and a host of other projects. Since September, I have had the opportunity to travel to London, Toronto, and Sydney. In September, I was recognized at work for being one of the top 10 people who had the biggest impact on the business. On top of it all, this month my boss and some other folks decided to show their appreciation for the hard work I have been doing in the form of an iPad 2.

A couple other quick side notes. This year I decided to relive a childhood dream and played in a soccer league. It turned out a little better than when I played as a child (where, as a team, we scored only one goal the whole season). This year we managed to scrape together a couple wins. It was fun. We also had the opportunity to go camping with the kids, which was something I have wanted to do for the past couple years. I may want to try it again sometime....in a couple more years.

Elena - Controlled Chaos and an Announcement:

Elena has been a star this year. How she successfully manages a household of 5 children that were 6 and under for the bulk of the year is beyond me. She not only remains the favorite ofthe children (most of the kids are very loyal momma's boys), but also finds time to do the laundry, dishes, shopping, extra-curricular activities, reading, blogging, photography, etc. I'm getting exhausted just typing this up.

Elena did find time to enroll in a photography class to further hone her skills. It was exciting this year because she had four or five other friends in the class that live close by. She has even branched out a little and started taking some pictures for some friends.

She also managed to get up early almost the whole year for an aerobics class with some gals around the neighborhood. Crazy, you say...you took the words right out of my mouth.

As of late, Elena had to stop attending her aerobics class and is letting me pitch in a little more because we recently discovered that we are expecting number six. We are super excited about this news. At the writing of this blog we are 14 weeks along which puts arrival date sometime in June 2012. As with previous pregnancies, Elena has been feeling quite sick (it always amazes me she is willing and eager to have more children...eh...maybe eager is a little strong). We have had an ultrasound to make sure there is just one little cherub...and there is.

Brooklyn:

We could not have asked for a better oldest daughter. Brooklyn continues to amaze me with the things she accomplishes. She is a very good student and loves to read and write. She is loving the second grade. This year she tried basketball, soccer, and dance. She is a very smart player, but may not have that killer instinct some of the kids have. I think this makes me a little sad, but is a huge relief to Elena.

Brooklyn loves to spend time with her youngest sister, Kamryn, and is usually the coordinator and organizer for group kid activities. She is very thoughtful and always looking for ways to help others. She has the same sense of humor as her dad (which terrifies Elena) and delights me to no end. She also loves to watch BYU sports with her dad, which is making me tear up....must move on...

Dallin:

What a hoot. Dallin had the opportunity to play soccer this year as well. He is a very, very sweet boy, but is also a competitive little fellow. He as an impish grin and sometimes a downright wicked laugh. Dallin started Kindergarten this year and his teacher has nothing but good things to say about him.

He loves to play games (both video and board games). Some of the favorites include: Sorry, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Lego Batman, Mario Kart Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Dallin is also a tough little guy. He took a rock to the face (courtesy of Colby) and got a sweet black eye. He built some great snow forts, we built the biggest snow man ever, and he learned to ride a two wheeler.

Parker - Double Trouble - Part 1:

Ahhh...where to begin. This has been a fun year because some of the personality differences are really starting to shine through between Parker and Colby. Parker is a very adventurous fellow. He loves to be outside on the trampoline or riding his bike. Snow is no deterrent. He has also developed a great right hook as both Dallin and Colby can attest too. Having three boys in an 18 month window has been an adjustment for Elena, who isn't used to the rough housing and physicality boys seem to inherently possess.

Parker still has a very refined palette, preferring Orange Creme yogurt, cereal, waffles, and....umm....well, he did branch out and find out pizza is good too.

Parker is very excited to be in big boy underwear now and we are excited to have him potty trained. He loves to play video games with his brother, and has developed a strong affinity for the iPad and Touchpad. We are working on limits and self control, which usually involves some tears, but we hope will pay dividends in the future.

Colby - Double Trouble - Part 2:

Colby and Parker do so much together, this section of the blog can always be a little more challenging. I'm sure Elena would do a much better job, but I'll soldier on. Colby has a very sensitive and sweet side. He loves to play with Mom's hair and would rather play inside with his toys than run around with his brothers outside. Don't get me wrong, he does the outside thing too, but he seems more content to sit back and take things at his own speed.

He has a really cute smile which shows his dimple, and is inseparable from his orange hat (even when he sleeps at night).

As mentioned previously, he did manage to throw a small boulder at Dallin which caused some damage, and he and Parker have some very intense battles. I think of all the children, Colby probably spends the most time in time out, but overall is an absolute joy. Oh...he also has a very infectious laugh.

Kamryn - Daddy's Little Girl:

After years and years of children that always want there mom (to the extent that we had to start calling me the Dad-Mom), we finally have a kid that prefers her dad. She is not the favorite, she just has a specially place in my heart...

Kamryn is a delight and all the kids adore her. She loves to run and play. She is not intimidated in the least bit by her older brothers, and on more than one occasion has come out the victor in the daily skirmishes that occur. She seems to possess an inner desire to dance and can actually swing her hips (which she definitely does not get from her Dad). She is learning to talk and loves to sing.

To conclude...

2011 has been an amazing year for our family. We have been extremely blessed and feel very fortunate. We have great friends, a good job, and an amazing family. We are very grateful to our Heavenly Father for his generosity and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that 2012 will bring.

*I just realized I typed this up on my work computer, which means I don't have any of the cute photos that belong in this blog. We will update the blog with photos, hopefully later today.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Love and Talent!

Gram E spent many hours quilting blankets for each of my kids. She also made church bags for Brooklyn and a few of her cousins for Christmas!

Now that is LOVE and Talent!

Thanks Gram E!!!

Sledding In January...

with our cousins Holly and Alicia and our Aunt Cami

The Train

She seriously is attacking my son! :)

Get her Dal!

DONE

Parker, Colby, Kirsten, Carly, Brooklyn, Kelsie, Dallin, and Kamryn

8 of the 10 grand kids!

Thanks for the fun in Texas Camps and Browns!

Christmas with the Camps

From Movies

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/83ebCUT1aFTktSC04OypJPb9w9EEB6JYKCDzsiFHtEs?feat=directlink

Visiting with the Texas Perriers For Christmas

We stayed at my brother Randall's house in Texas. Both J.J. and Kristi and their families were able to come and hang out. We loved it and miss all the fun we used to have with them when we lived in Texas!

The cousins had tons of fun playing "Don't eat Pete"!

Aunt Kristi brought craft stuff to make home made ornaments. They were so cute and we all loved doing them. Brooklyn even made some. I didn't think my 6 year old was really old enough to sew with a needle, then someone reminded me that my Grandma Alicia was probably sewing with a needle by the time she was 3 years old.

These crazy teenagers were the ones to stay up to the wee hours of the morning. There is Rachael asleep on the couch and Shelby sleeping on the floor with her head under a chair.

I really like sleep and beds. I guess I am old, and that's OK with me.

Thanks Texas Families for the fun!

Brooklyn's first grade program

Ms. Powell and Brooklyn.

Brooklyn did awesome at her program and was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Perrier and also her Gram E in town to see her! Thanks for coming everyone!

The Face of a Preschool Graduate

How can you not love that face!!!

Miss Tiffany and Dal

Keeping the family happy and quiet during the Graduation got a little crazy, and I am going to blame those circumstances for the lack of pictures of Aunt Cami and Kamryn who also came :) Cami and Grandpa and Grandma Perrier helped out a ton so I could video this for Brandon who had to be out of town. Thank you, thank you!