Who's that kid with the Oreo cookie?

It's a love/hate relationship really. Oreos. I despise you, yet your crunchy deliciousness and creamy goodness fills my empty soul. I prefer eating the first cookie without the milk. Very slowly I pull apart the two cookie ends to find the white filling staring back at me, two large white eyes begging to be eaten. No licking of the filling is involved, I simply devour one side at a time. Cookie number two is dipped half way in the milk. Count: one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, then up to my mouth. Mmmm that's good. Next thing I know, the entire sleeve is gone. Blast you Oreo manufacturers! Why do you have to make your cookies so irresistible? It's like an abusive relationship. I know their not good for me, but I can't stand to be without them. And now my milk's all gone. Okay, just one more without the milk. Make that two more.

Thanks to a new ap on Cam's iphone, I can envision how our family will look if I keep up this bad habit:








Here are some fun things we've done over the month of August:

Cooling off with some backyard fun. No broken bones this time.

Ella giving Kenny an underdog.

We all traveled to Grandpa Page's cabin to spend the night and have some fun!

The kids suited up and played in the stream.

Ella and Dax were pretending to be secret spies, and were hiding from the "bad guys." Soon Ella freaked herself out too much with her overactive imagination and wanted to stay inside with me instead.

Cam taught the boys all about tree tipping. You find a good, dead tree, make sure the path is clear, then shove it hard while yelling, "Timber!" They had a blast!

Our happy family going for a little hike.

The kids and I had a great time at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden this past month. So many fun things to do and fun stories to read. Ella's favorite, the doll room.

Daxton loved the "Knight" room. He put on a costume, and sat in the King's throne the entire time (holding tight to his "pet" dragon.)

Turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so.

Giddy' up cow girl.
And Cowboy.
Daxton instructed his students to draw a picture of themselves.
Warming by the fire in the teepee.
Joshua

Some quotes over the month:

"My dad is pretty much a big fan of protein."

Ella, "Josh you almost got my dress dirty!"

Josh, "Ella, it's fine if your dress gets dirty. It's not like you're going to the temple."

Josh's first day of 3rd grade.

Josh had a pretty great month. We were able to do some fun things before back to school time started, including a trip to Cowabunga bay. Of course good fortune happened that I took my kids to the water park on the coldest day of summer, and Josh was the only child brave enough (or crazy enough) to go down the slides and brave the freezing temperature of the water. Dax, Ella, Kelli, Amelie and I opted to stay in the tub-warm water of the lazy river. His favorite was the purple slide, because it was steep, and dark and you couldn't tell which direction you were headed.

We tried our luck fishing up at Silver Lake this month and Josh was very adamant that he did not wish to partcipate. I'm farely sure that this boy will be an animal right's activist one day. The other night Cam and I went on a date and Josh called me on my phone, hysterical, because our neighbor was "choking this dog because the dog was chasing his daughter, and she was screaming, but it wasn't the dog's fault. He was only trying to play with her and I kept trying to call the dog over to me so he could play but he wouldn't come....and he was choking the dog!" Interesting how his concern wasn't the screaming girl being chased by the dog.

Daxton

"Mom, I like you."

Seriously, he says it all the time and each time it just warms my heart. I love it!

My little Dax-man.

Dax has really enjoyed riding his bike over the past month. His favorite is riding up our neighbor's steep driveway, then racing down as fast as he can pedal, cross the street (without looking) and hopping up our curb to the driveway. So far, no car encounters, though we have had one close call. He's only supposed to cross the street if I am outside watching him (and watching for cars). Makes me just a bit nervous.

Dax starts preschool next month. He is so ready to be out of the house and away from mom. He just missed the school deadline, so he will wait one more year before he starts Kindergarten. I am actually really glad that I get one more year with this little curly headed boy. He just makes me happy!

Ella

This is what she does when I ask to take her picture. She has to strike a pose.

Dax has a friend over and Ella just said to him, "Oooh gross, smell my butt," because she passed gas. Sigh, this girl!! What are we going to do with her? Yesterday she told a neighbor boy that he was a "fat man," so a FHE lesson insued about people's feelings---what you should and SHOULD NOT say to people.

Along with being a gross sass-a-frass, Ella has also become quite the storyteller.

The other day she took my face in her little hands and said, "Mom, I am going to miss you when I'm in the whale."

Then we were having lunch at the table and she began coughing.
"Ella, are you okay?"

To which she repies,

"No. (cough, cough) I fell out of the trees."

And finally we were at Grandpa Page's cabin, tucking her in bed when she begins one of her stories:

"When I was a little girl and my family died..."

"How did your famiy die Ella?"

"They went on a mission and there was a goblin and he was eating a sandwich and then there was a cricket and he was this big and I was holding him and he singed a song."

Amelie

The other day I come back in the kitchen to find that Ella had done this to the baby:

Then I come upstairs the next day to see that Dax had done this to the baby:

This girl is everywhere! She has not begun crawling yet, just rolls all over the place, pivot turns, and does this scooting action. She's on her belly and will reach up with one arm, then reach with the other as she slowly inches her way forward. So our magazines have been chewed, sucked on, and completely destroyed because I failed to take into account that nothing is safe anymore. Fiber, right?

She is such a joy to have around! This girl is so smiley. Those big dimples just bring sunshine to whomever encounters her. She seems to have a silly personality, and really enjoys making people laugh and smile.

Cameron

There have been some changes at work, and Cam is moving from a team setting to be his own account manager. It's exciting, but also a little nerve racking. However, it will be nice for Cam to have a little more control over his own schedule.

A few weeks back I awoke to Cam looking down at me with a big, swollen eye. He went after a fast break playing ball and split his eye open. After doing the stitches debate, we decided to save a few bucks and super glue it ourselves. I must admit, I did a pretty decent job.

Cindy

New hair cut. I think God gave me curly hair to disguise the fact that my head is tiny. How obvious is it that I cut those bangs myself? Well, at least I look happy to be with him. I started swimming laps this past month. Every Mon, Wed and Fri I wake up, feed the baby, and head out the door while most of the world still slumbers. It is so, so great. All I have to worry about for that hour is breathing. The world is silent under the water, and I get to see the sky slowly change from black, to purple, to light pink, then blue as the sun rises.

My new swim cap and goggles. Chic, no? I put them on, then waited outside the door while Josh was using the bathrooom. He opened up the door to find me dressed like this screaming at him. I guess I overdid it. I was going for laughter, not tears. The other day we set up Amelie's high chair and had our entire family sitting at the dinner table. It was uber weird. Here we are, a family of six! Cam and I continue to ask ourselves how it all happened and how became so old. But wow, it's been great lately. I don't know if it's because our kids are getting older, and they can talk more....or if it's because we are able to spend more time together as a family; but lately I just feel so happy to be with my them. It seems we are constantly smiling or laughing at something funny they say or do. It's no wonder that a family is central to God's plan. They bring so much joy!