Seven Down, Six to Go!

Esther knows more than half of the Articles of Faith!

Eshter is sitting next to me while I upload this and she said she wants this sent to "the Woods, Ethan, Addie, Dyson, Nana, Grammy, and to all of the people that are in Utah and Grenada and Dyson too. And Jada and Keahi and my cousins and all of it. And to our new prophet." I hope this gets to some of that list.

It's Official

After a summer of waiting, we finally received Cameron's placement today. In a little over a week we'll be packing the van and driving to Detroit, MI. Cameron starts rotations on August 18th. We're excited to finally be able to make real plans concerning our future.

Here is a completely unrelated, but cute, picture. It's just not a blog without a picture

Zoo Day

This morning our kids woke up very happy because they knew that today was ZOO DAY! After hearing about zoos for so long, they finally got to live one of their life's ambitions and go themselves.

After approaching very cautiously the first time, Esther fell in love with the lion water fountains and told us she was very thirsty whenever one came into view.

William loved watching the elephants and the giraffes (he's nearly as big as they are after all). The snakes were his favorite, but we didn't get a picture of him pestering them. I suppose he is too little to read the "please do not tap the glass" signs.

We also had a lot of fun in the playground.

The train ride was definitely a hit too. William choo chooed all the way around. Esther's favorite part was screaming in the tunnel. Cameron and I enjoyed sitting down together for a moment (even though Will was between us). I think we all had a wonderful day.

Can You Play?

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Six Down, Seven to Go

Esther always wants me to say "bingo" when the camera has started recording. I don't know where she came up with that idea, but she requests it every time.

Independence Day

This was our first Independence Day in America since 2005. We've been looking forward to this day for years. When Cameron was picking his USMLE test date I asked him to please take it before the 4th of July so we could enjoy the whole day as a family, and boy did we.

First we watched the Magna Parade. It's a great tradition that we've missed.

Esther and William were happy to discover that there is candy at parades. They had a lot of fun collecting it with their cousins.

Some people were even passing out firefighter helmets and flags!

After a barbecue with Cameron's family, we headed over to my sister's house for another barbecue. They have a great view of the valley so we could watch several fireworks shows from their backyard. Esther found an older cousin who loves princesses as much (or maybe even more) than she does. Her cousin had a dress she had outgrown for Esther. They also had lots of fun doing their princess make-up.

We had a wonderful patriotic day.

Our New Wheels

We bought a van! We're very excited, but not as excited as the kids are. We didn't think we'd be able to get a good one in our price range, but thanks to craigslist we did. Hooray! After bringing it home Thursday, Esther and William helped Daddy and Grandpa look it over to see what needed fixing up. They loved getting dirty.