Friend Time...

My goal was to get all caught up with this blog before Brian and I go out of town on Sunday. We leave EARLY EARLY morning on Sunday, and we are going to HAWAII!!! I'm so excited...I have never been there. I actually earned this trip through the Stampin' Up! stuff I do and it's going to be a BLAST!!! Anyway: after this post I am JUST ABOUT caught up. I have a few more pics from this week and our trip to the zoo today that are on my camera that I need to upload, but YEAH!!! So last Saturday I had a GREAT day! My good friend Tara, a college roommate, took me out to lunch and movie for my birthday. It was SO GREAT and we had a BLAST!!!! (WHY DID WE NOT GET A PIC DEAR TARA?!) Then when we got back, a friend of Brian's from college and his wife and son surprised us by stopping by. We have all became good friends, and we hadn't seen them in SO LONG! So it was great to see them and get caught up. They just had their first baby a few months ago and he is SO CUTE! We're so glad we got to meet him!!! Kylie was IN LOVE with him!!!! She even got to hold him...
How cute are they both?! :)

Love it!!

My precious baby girl...(just got a new camera and still trying to learn it so sorry for the blur!)

The cute family with a little addition. :)

Father and son

LOOK AT THIS SWEETHEART! Sorry it's a bit blurry! Thanks guys for a fun Saturday!

Road Trip Buddy....

Kylie and I recently returned from our FIRST ROAD TRIP together as Mommy and Daughter team. My mom recently had surgery, so we went out there for a bit to help my parents out. Brian had to work and I was too cheap to get him a plane ticket back to Utah so he could help me drive. So Kylie and I journeyed across the HORRID road of I-80 through Wyoming to get to Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house. I was really worried because Kylie can be very high maintenance. But we made it and actually had a good time. At one point...yes...I got a bit stir crazy. Anyone that has traveled with me for a long road trip knows I can get a bit antsy. (And that's probably an understatement.) But Kylie handled me just fine. :) At one point in the journey I decided to document this trip. Here's my sweet Kylie...

Then the "self-portrait" trying to get us both in! :) ...

Then on our way home we stopped at the famous Rawlins McDonald's. Seriously....ANYTHING you have here is so yummy. :) (Maybe it's because you are SO SO bored with the road and just want to do ANYTHING but drive it tastes so good. :) ) So here is my sweet baby eating her yummy lunch...

We had a great time in CO with Grandma and Grandpa. I didn't get any pictures though!!!! It was good to be out there and get to help them out. The time flew, and we miss them lots!

Girly Girl Time...

When my parents were out visiting in February, Kylie and Grandma Brown had some fun playing. Kylie is SUCH a girl most times. : ) She LOVES jewelry and make-up. So Grandma let her play with hers. Such precious moments.


Gotta love that face! :)

Having Some Fun With Toys...

Catching up some more....another day in February....

How cute is this girl?! I had my camera out and she wanted me to take her picture. How could I resist? :) Then she needed a picture of some things she loves.....

Her plastic doll with her bathtub...

And her rocket! All her "friends" are in their proper place inside and she LOVES this toy! She has played with this for hours and hours and often has to take her "friends" to bed with her. :)

I love you Kylie! :)

Daddy/Daughter Time...

Still playing catch up. :) I caught this wonderful moment in February. :) I love watching Kylie and Daddy interact. If Brian is around....Kylie CLINGS to him most times. It's so cute. Here they are enjoying some books...


Then we tried to get a self family portrait. :) Hey...it's the thought that counts, right? Not necessarily the outcome. :)

We Miss You Camer...

I should have posted these photos before I posted the ones with Cameron (although we now call him Camer since that is what Kylie calls him) at the Missionary Training Center. These are a few shots of Camer's last days before he headed out on his mission. WE MISS YOU CAMER!!! We are proud of you and excited for you, but we miss your smiley face!

Camer with his Mommas!
Camer with his oldest brother, Brandon, and Daddy! Can you tell they are related?! :)

A more casual shot of these three.

Camer with Leah, Brandon's wife, and one of their DARLING sons, Crae!

Camser with his oldest neice...Lexy. So cute!

Update on Camer and his mission: he really is doing great! He's adjusting so well and seems really happy. If any of you want to write him a letter...just let me know and I can send you his address. He is very faithful at writing letters (he emails most but we've already gotten a few letters from him) and I'm sure he'd love to hear from anyone from home! :)

It's SWEET time!!!

My ever impressive cousin (well, my cousin's wife....but we're cousins! :) ) just opened up a cupcake bakery in Provo, UT. She's had a website for a long time now where she sold her baked goods and let me just say....she does AMAZING things! They look good, taste INCREDIBLE and I'm just so impressed with her. Her amazing "cake bites" have even been featured on the Rachel Ray show. ANYWAY....her website is: www.thesweettoothfairy.com if you want to check them out. I highly recommend ordering some cupcakes and having them shipped right to your house. You'll be amazed! :) We were in Chicago for her cupcake shop big grand opening, so when we were in Provo taking Cams to the MTC....I had to go by to say hello and check things out. Her store is SO CUTE and the treats are so yummy. Kylie waited so patiently for her cupcake (they are a busy store!) and here she is devouring her well earned treat....
Had to take a break after eating most of the frosting...

I just can't even stand it...Kylie is just so cute! :) (Sorry for the gush for a moment.) Thanks Megan for opening this store so we can get your treats whenever we want! :) GOOD LUCK and love you lots!

And Cameron is off...

My littlest brother is growing up so fast! I can't believe it! My once little Cameron is so not little anymore. AND....he just left for TWO WHOLE YEARS! Where did he go?! Why...he is off to serve a mission for our church. He is going to Fresno, California to serve. I'm so excited for him and he's grown up so much from this experience already! Here are just a few shots of our last little bit of time with him for the next 2 years....


Before he left, we all went out to dinner as a fam. Didn't get many pics...but I did LOVE this picture of Kylie and her Grandpa Brown! LOVE LOVE IT!

This is an awful pic of me, but hey....it's my sweet brother and I...so oh well! I love this kid. He was my buddy growing up....and I can't believe how old he seems these days! Where did my little Cam-Cam go?!??!?

All missionaries start at the Missionary Training Center (MTC). We took Cams there on Wednesday, Feb 4th. It was a sad day, but I'm so proud of him. Here he is with our parents....and Kylie wouldn't leave Grandma's side. :) I could of cropped it out, but how could I?! :)

Three generations here....my Grandpa, Cams, and my Daddy. Cute and amazing men...all three!!!

My two younger brothers...Matty and Cam-Cam. Love these guys! Brandon, Leah, and fam...we missed you all LIKE CRAZY!!!!

And Cam-Cam and Kylie. They have a really cute relationship. It's amazing to me how much Cameron LOVES his nieces and nephews. They all love him right back! I got to talk to Cameron real quick when he was at the airport flying off to Fresno. When I got off the phone Kylie says, "Can Camer (she calls him Camer) come play for ONE MINUTE?!" (Said with great emphasis....she's in a phase thinking if she says one minute anything can happen because it's such a short time. :) ) Then I told her a bit about why he couldn't come and why we wouldn't see him for a long time. She looks at me with this totally pouty face and says, "That makes me so sad." It was so sweet. I swear...this kid is 2 going on 16!

WE LOVE YOU CAMER AND WE'LL MISS YOU!!!

Family Photos...

I guess all these posts for our Chicago trip will be backwards, so sorry! Here are some of the shots we took on Saturday morning...

The whole gang all together

Cutie cousins all together! This was a tough shot to get, but so worth it!!!

Here are the Utah Van Camp's all together

How sweet is this baby girl?! I LOVE this shot! Although you can tell which arm her cast was on...she still was holding it funny. But man...that face is so yummy! :)

Brian's parents. Love this shot of them!

Love this shot of these three as well! Grandma with her two kids. SO CUTE!

Then Mom and Dad with all of their kids. This is such a great one too...I think. Ok...so I like them all. I think we got some great shots. Hope you enjoyed the photo shoot too! :) We had such a great weekend with the whole family! We DEFINITELY need a repeat sometime soon! Thanks everyone for all you did!

PLAY TIME at the Water Park...

The whole family had an absolute blast at the water park. It seriously was SUCH a fun place and I hope we go back soon. Considering it's only like 5 mins from Brian's parents house, we probably will be back! :)

The cute Smith family all "Water Parked" up!
Here are the Van Camp's all "Water Parked" up! :) The craziness of the day!Funny story...Brian's mom doesn't own a bathing suit. I'm pretty sure we all warned her she would want to go get one. She didn't....but of course couldn't resist the fun. :) So she ended up in the lazy river, going down the slides, etc....in her clothes. It was quite fun to be a part of it!

Yes...yes....Doug and Ella ended up going down the slide together! Ella fell out at the bottom of the slide, and Ella saw the inner tube go right over her. :) It was quite funny and we're so glad they got in on the fun!

Kylie LOVES these fountains. She actually LOVED this whole place and did NOT want to leave. We were there for hours and hours and hours and then she STILL did not want to go. It was fun to see her have so much fun! She even got to play with Grandpa in the fountains. I LOVED watching this....SO CUTE!!!

Cutie Kylie sliding down the slide.

Karen and Grandma didn't want to go down the slides and such but they watched from the hotel. It was fun knowing we had fans. :)