ALASKA!

Sorry it took so long to get these pictures posted, but life is really busy right now, what can I say. We sure had a lot of fun hanging out together with each other and also with the family. It has been almost one year since Camarron has seen any of his family. So this was a great chance for everybody to catch up a little bit.

Also, just to update what is going on in our lives, I am going to school full time again and Cam is working hard. I am almost 6 months pregnant and our baby is due on the 24th of December. Cross your fingers that she comes after the 8th so I can finish my finals and before the 23rd so we aren't in the hospital over Christmas.

(Just a head's up, these pictures aren't really in order so sorry if they don't flow very well.)

This was on our camping trip. We drove out to Sunshine cove and walked a long the beach throwing rocks and just enjoying the sunshine. I love this picture of my husband just walking by the ocean.

If you notice the picture at the top of our blog, it is taken from almost the exact same place. We couldn't quite get down to the rock that we took it on last time (which is the rock you see behind me) because the river was SO high from all the rain.

Camarron with his parents.

This is just outside his parents house.

This is the Mendenhall Glacier.

Here we are back at sunshine cove sitting on the beach.

Sunshine Cove


When this float plane flew over out heads I thought Cam was going to start crying he was so excited! He said to me, "That is what I want to fly here!"

More of beautiful Sunshine Cove.

This was out at Auke Rec. where we camped and Cam made us a wonderful fire.

Unfortunately this was the biggest fish Cam caught our entire trip. No it is not a salmon...it is called a "double ugly"...at least that is what the locals call it. This fish is actually a type of rock fish. It has a huge mouth and lots of spines on its back and fins.

I just love how clear the water is in Alaska.

This was out by Auke Rec where Cam went fishing and I explored the tide pools.

Our camp site

My husband happy as can be fishing off the coast line.

This is Camarron trying to show up his brother Shilo. We went on a walk and they both started to run and jump off the side of the large trees. The things that boys do for entertainment...

Shilo, jumping a little higher than Camarron.

As you can see, my husband is trying to figure out how to do better than his younger brother.

We went out to eat with Shilo and some friends that are in Juneau working for the summer.

We went downtown for an afternoon and played "tourist". We went into this store that had a whole bunch of toys. Cam and Shilo found this weird, growdy, stretchy thing that Cam put over his face. He said it smelled even worse than it looked.

Unfortunately these were the only killer whales I saw on our trip.

You should have seen the looks we were getting while taking these pictures. Because the whales were hanging from the ceiling, Cam had to lie down on the ground to take the pictures. There were hundreds of people shopping in this huge store and Cam was laying down right in the middle of the floor so I could have pictures of these killer whales. What a great husband I have.

Shilo being a tourist downtown.

Downtown Juneau

Glacier Gardens

Cam's brother Shilo and also his sister Chantilli work at this place called Glacier Gardens. Shilo took us on a tour up the mountain to see all of the flowers and plants. I loved it!

Notice the upside down tree stuck back into the ground with flowers growing out of the roots.

Over looking the Juneau Valley and the channel from the top of the mountain.

One of Camarron's favorite things to do while in Juneau was to go and play ball with the missionaries. So we went on Tuesday mornings so Cam could play with the Elders and also some of the RM's that went back to work in Juneau.

This is the glacier at dusk reflecting back in the lake.

We went and tried to have a BBQ at Auke Rec. However, after being there for about 30 minutes, a park ranger came and told us that there was a "No burn" restriction because of all the fires that were in Canada and all of the smoke that was in the air. Kind of strange to me, but whatever. Anyway, the guys ended up throwing the marshmallows at each other because we couldn't roast them.

This is Cam playing on the rope swing at Sunshine Cove.

Camarron fishing and catching nothing but a Double Ugly.

One of our favorite places to eat at is the Thai Kitchen. While we were there I dared Cam to bite into a lime. I told him that I would eat one if he bit into one. He just roled his eyes at be because I love limes and eat them voluntarily. However, I finally got him to do it and this was his reaction. It made me laugh really hard.

We did get to go whale watching while we were there and there were a ton of humpback whales.

Surprise!!!

I had another appointment this morning to have my third ultrasound. Last month my doctor told me that she thought my baby was a boy. I was a little surprised to hear her say that because the entire time I've been pregnant I have felt like I am going to have a girl. The doctor tried to show me on the ultrasound what she was looking at that made her think my baby was a boy...I just smiled and nodded. I had no idea what she was looking at! Anyway, this morning I went in and she said that she would be able to have a better look and give me a better idea of the sex of my baby. I was not surprised at all when she said to me, "I think your 'He' is really a 'She'." I probably sounded surprised because I said "REALLY!?" but in reality I wanted to say "I knew it." So that is what I told Cam on the drive home. :.)

I am now just about half way through with my pregnancy and as of right now, we are going to have a girl.

Fourth of July Weekend!!!

So this weekend was pretty awesome! Camarron was lucky enough to have a four day weekend. (Fri.-Mon.) We decided to go to the zoo on Friday morning. It was military appreciation day so we got in FREE! I don't think I have ever seen so many people at the zoo. I guess we all like free stuff here in the military. :.)

Me and the pelican.

These little groundhogs weren't sure what to think of Cam. The one that is crouched down kept bobbing up and down looking at Camarron trying to figure out what was going on.

We decided to go on the train ride. I thought it was going to be a lot longer than what it was. I think it lasted a total of two minutes. I guess things aren't quite like I remember them as a little girl.

However, if we didn't go on the train ride, we never would have seen this awesome buffalo. Camarron was worried it was going to ram us right off of the train. Ok...he was actually hoping that the buffalo would just come and ram the train so there was a little bit more excitement.

Cam with the Pongo Pygmaeus (Orangutan).

This rattle snake followed the camera up and down while I was trying to take his picture. We were probably the most exciting things he had seen all day.

We tried to get this giraffe to put his head up so our picture would have turned out better, but I guess you can't interrupt a giraffe and his lunch.

And these are always my favorite animals at the zoo. They were actually swimming around today because the zoo keepers were out feeding them. I could have stayed and watched them all day.

There was a guy standing next to us that asked the question to his wife, "Honey, are these animals birds?" I wanted to lecture him so he was educated...but I refrained. Just so all of you know and can now tell the guy next to you at the zoo when he asks, penguins are birds and they do have feathers. Normal birds have about 35 feathers per square inch on their body. Penguins have 70 feathers per square inch. They also have a special oil that covers their feathers so the water runs off of them and they can stay warm in cold climates. (However, these penguins live in Africa.) Now you know...and I feel better too. :.)

On Saturday we went to a breakfast that our ward put on. After we left we stopped by our apartment to get some things so we could go to the parade with CeCee and on our way back to the car Dude (This is another name for Lucile...one of her many) said, "Wow! That's the biggest spider I have ever seen!" I turned around just in time to see a HUGE black spider, pulling something along with it, crawl into a crevice of a rock. Cam and Dude got a little closer and noticed it was a black widow. At first I was king of intrigued by the thing since I just got done studying about arachnids in my Zoology class, but I won't lie, now I'm a little freaked out knowing that monstrous spider (the size of a Ritz cracker) is living right outside my apartment.

Pretty dang disgusting if you ask me!

After our spider adventure we went to watch the Layton parade. Lucile was on a float for productions company and was one of the few floats that was actually interesting. Afterwards we ended up going to a concert in Hooper, UT as well as a fireworks show. Greg Simpson put on a great concert and I won't lie, the city of Hooper put on a really good fireworks show. I was impressed.

All these little kids were laying on their bellies fascinated with whatever was going on if front of them. Mom and I thought it was a cute picture moment.

There was some huge artillery type gun at the park in Hooper. That was the first thing Cam wanted to check out.

So we did and he climbed all over it like a monkey.

My hubby lovin' the fireworks.

The grand finale and it was way better than I was expecting.

We had a wonderful weekend but I must admit I am happy that this new week is starting so I can get some major studying and homework done. I'm trying so hard to finish all my school work early so we can go to Alaska for two weeks. We are hopefully leaving on the 6th of August and coming home on the 21st. We can't wait and are so excited we can hardly stand it! So homework for now...but Alaska...HERE WE COME!

We like ducks!

This past week we had an entire loaf of bread that went moldy. That will teach us to buy bread on a really good sale again...probably means it is way old so they have to get rid of it before the mold starts forming. Anyway, we decided to go feed it to the ducks. We figured with all of the gross things that they swim in and eat in their ponds that a little mold wouldn't hurt them. So we went to Layton Park and fed the ducks, geese, and swans. It was great! Especially since it was raining, there weren't very many people around.

I loved all the little baby ducklings. I wanted to take them home with us.

I'm pretty sure these were Trumpeter swans. They made the coolest noise that sounded just like a trumpet.

These were Cam's favorite. He likes the geese, mainly just because he would like to hunt them. He would walk slowly behind them and see just how close he could get before the parent geese would start hissing at him.

We liked this spot at the park. It reminded us of Alaska with all the rain and the stream running behind us.

Me feeding the little ducklings.

Cam hand feeding the goslings. I was grateful he didn't try to pick any of them up like last time we were at the park.

Also I want to update you a little bit on what is going on in our lives. I am now 13 weeks pregnant and finally feeling life is semi normal again. I am no longer sick every minute of the day and can actually cook dinner, do laundry, and stuff like that. I have about 3 more weeks or so before I should be able to start feeling the baby move. That makes me excited! We went to the doctor on the 28th of last month and were able to hear the heartbeat. It was fun to see how excited Camarron got when he saw and heard the heart. He jumped right off his chair and got really close to the monitor. He said, "That's really the baby?" It's been a really long time since I have seen a smile that big on my husbands face. School is going well. I finally feel like I am getting a handle on my nutrition class. Any of you out there who have taken this class probably know what I am talking about. This is by far one of the most difficult classes I have ever taken. Who knew? I am grateful that it is over in about 2 more weeks. The 1st block of the summer semester ends on the 26th of June and that means I am finished with Nutrition and my Intro to Creative Arts class. (No I didn't choose to take this one, I have to in order to finish my degree at Weber. Luckily since I have taken a class like this several times already, this one is a breeze.) Once the 2nd block begins I will pick up an American government class and continue on with my health and zoology classes. Everything finishes up the end of August.

Camarron is doing great! He loves his job and couldn't be happier that he gets to work on the flight line that he dreamed about working on less than one year ago. It is amazing how things turn out sometimes isn't it. He is preparing for his first deployment the beginning of this upcoming January. We are pretty sure he is going to Afghanistan and will be gone for about 6 months. I am now beginning to understand part of the reason behind the Lord sending us right back to Utah. Our baby is due the end of December and will be one or two weeks old (if we are lucky) before Cam gets deployed. I am grateful that I am so close to family and friends that can help me and support me in this next step in our lives.