Be it ever so humble...: The Power of the Haha

My little brother, Cameron, is serving an L.D.S. mission in Lisbon, Portugal. He's wearing the hat he knitted. He's a stud, but he's not a letter writer. In fact, I've received only one letter in the near 15 months that he has been serving. However, he is great at sending my parents his weekly emails. Every time I read through his email, I smile to myself and think, "Wow, this guy is so upbeat and happy all the time;" even if the post seemed less than cheerful. I wondered how he did it. Was it because I could see his curly-headed, upbeat demeanor and picture himself reading the email to us? Was it because I could sense his personality through the words? No. It was his insertion of the "ha, ha."

He uses it constantly!

Here are a few sentences from his latest email:

"So hey all, everything's going allright here in good ol Portugal. It's no longer boiling hot, in fact, it's super cloudy and rains all day. haha. Its kinda weird. But whatever. It's better to be dripping wet with rain water than dripping wet with sweat. haha"

and

"Beyond that, not much is really going on. The new American family is having us over for dinner and they asked if I wanted anything from the U.S. Apparently the dad works in the embassy and they get shipments of american goods all the time. It was really hard to not ask for mountain dew. haha I settled on asking for toproman, Jiffy peanut butter, and root beer. haha I'm pretty excited for some taste of home. My new Ipod is great. Kelli's acount worked. I got some cool dictionary apps, and the churches free scripture app that's actually pretty great. You can download video of all the conferences. I'm pretty stoked for that. haha"

That's 3 "ha ha's" in one paragraph alone! Honestly though, you read through that and think to yourself, "Crikey, I really want to hang out with this guy! He laughs at everything! (what, you don't use the term crikey? Oh.)

So, if you think others perceive you as boring and depressed, bust out a few "ha ha's" in your next text and email. You'll be upbeat in no time!

I miss you Cam.

Speaking of laughter and having a good time, we bought a boat this past month (one of those "TLC" boats. I'm working on re-appholstering it.) We've had so much fun! I'm convinced that a boat is perfect for family time. You are all in tight quarters, having a good time, cheering on the person in the water, enjoying sunshine and good food. Love it, and so do the kids.

Enjoying the sunshine and the FREEZING water at East Canyon.

Daxton, happy as usual.

Sportin' her stuff in Kelli's shades.

Chillin.

I think his hands were hurting from holding on to the rope for so long while knee-boarding.

Cam on the wake board.

Our Captain.

Dax and Josh on the "Big Mamma."

Cam gave me a crash course in driving the boat so I could tow him. Can you say nerve racking? Just glad I didn't run him over.....

Happy at Bear Lake.....well...almost all happy. Amelie wanted less picture action and more water action.

Josh with Grandma Holly.

Happy now because she's in the water!

Suprisingly the boat is the one place where she actually sits still.

Daxton hanging out with the cousins, Bryn and Whitney.

And my all time favorite:

Joshua

First day of school, 4th grade.

Josh with his best buds, Maddy and Tate.

I would say that time flies, but it doesn't seem to fly, it just kinda dissapears. Years pass and you say to yourself, "Was he ever little?" but then you dig through your hard drive and find pictures like this:

(Had to add this one. Josh has been a Rocky fan for years. And yes, that was Cam's poster.)

I think "back to school time" has hit me harder this year because 4th grade is that pivotal year. For example, if you're a teacher, and you like younger kids, 3rd grade is where you draw the line. In 4th, they are just too grown up. They aren't enamored by the little things anymore, they start worrying about fitting in, and what to say and what to wear. They write "Mrs. Eggertz is gay" on the four-square balls (true story.)

Sigh.

I guess it's just another reminder that I need to enjoy each day I have with these beautiful kids.

Daxton

First day of Kindergarten.

Dax bought this tent with his own money at a neighbor's garage sale for a whopping $2. He carried it all the way home, then had a sleepover in it with Ella that night. Only they didn't really sleep in it. Once it got dark, they asked to come inside because they were scared.

Catching grasshoppers at Shera's house. My favorite part of the picture is Jack in the background. Shera made Jack that "super-hero" costume out of my grandma's old clothing. Captain Polyester!

We were all sitting at the dinner table the other night, and Josh was reminscing about his favorite part of the movie "Wall-E"

"I love the part where Wall-E is digging through the trash and he finds the bra and puts it on his head. That part is so hillarious."

So jokingly I asked, "Josh, what's a bra?"

And Josh blushes and says, "I'm not telling you that."

To which Dax replies, "You put it on your boobies."

And I smile and say, "Boobies?"

Then he gives me this look that says, you don't know what boobies are? And replies,

"Yeah, you know, baby suckers. Because babies suck on them."

By now we are all in hysterics. Little Dax. Blunt, to the point, and hillarious.

Ella

Ella's first day of preschool.

Dax took this photo of Ella.

Ella catching grass hoppers at Shera's.

Ella and I have been thoroughly enjoying our girl time together. Since the boys leave for school, we have 2 1/2 hours of "girl only" time. It's quite nice.

However, Ella and Amelie were playing up in their room the other day and I hear Ella scream, "Mom! Amelie is ruining my life!" Because the baby kept messing up the tea set Ella was trying to set up. I guess the sister rivalry has begun already. Shoot, I thought I still had a few years before that started.

Amelie

Dax took this photo of the baby.

Eating a paint roller, luckily sans free of paint.

Tub time. This girl is a maniac in the water.

She's a big baby, top of the charts for weight, height, and almost off the chart for head size (Gets it from her dad. I actually have a very tiny head.) She still isn't talking much. Understands everything, just doesn't feel like chatting. However, the other day she handed Dax something and he thanked her, and plain as day she said "welcome." It's definitely in there, she's just stubborn.

Her favorite places to be are in the cupboards or on top of the counter. She likes to throw things in the trash, among other places. For example, I found one of my bracelets in the garbage disposal yesterday. (Yes, discovered it as I turned the disposal on and heard the familiar "chink, chink" of something that didn't belong.)

She's so much fun though, and makes us all laugh throughout the day.

Cam

Before I write down that Cam is my hero, I need to set the record straight. You see, my sister Kelli has mentioned that I write about Cam like a whooped female, doting upon his every move. So let's get one thing clear; I don't think he walks on water. He more like runs on water.

He's my hero.

And before you start dry heaving, let me just share some of the amazing things that my kick-butt spouse has done over the few short months of Summer:

Ran RAGNAR (though truthfully, this is nothing to gloat about. Cam and I think RAGNAR is just an excuse for people to dress up, show their cleavage, then say they ran a bunch of miles though most of that time was spent sitting in a car for 2 days. Just my opinion people. Don't go taking down your RAGNAR bumper stickers because I poked fun at you.)

Hiked 50 miles with the Priests

XTERRA triathlon in Moab

LOTOJA (that's 206 miles, on a bike, over 2 mountain passes. 13 hours. Ugghh)

He's just awesome, that's all I'm saying.

Biking up Geneva.

First stop, Preston.

206 Miles and a smile on his face!

Cindy

I think I'm in awe of Cam more today than usual because I biked Ella to her preschool today in our kid trailer, and it about killed me. (the baby was in it too! She's a tanker!) It's tougher than it looks. That's 75 extra pounds I'm pulling behind me, plus the extra drag of two more wheels.

That's my excuse anyway. Truthfully, I'm just severely out of shape, but I'm working on changing that.

This past month I was able to travel to California for the weekend to see my cousin Nicole get married in the Newport Temple. It was such a wonderful event. Wonderful for Nicole, wonderful to see my mom with her siblings and hear the stories of their childhood, wonderful to see where my mom grew up, and wonderful to feel like a kid again. Kelli and I walked along the boardwalk on Belmont shore and jumped up and down in excitement, begging my dad to "please, pretty please" pay the $3 so we could ride the ferris wheel. We stretched our arms high in the air and let the cool air ruffle our curls as squeals of delight escaped from our smiling faces. Felt like I was 9 years old all over again. Awesome. Dad, the best $3 you ever spent on me!

Kelli and I sharing dessert at the Cheescake Factory.

Dad, Mom, Myself, and Kelli at Bellmont shore.

9 years separate us, but man, we have such a good time when we're together!

My mom and Uncle Larry told us about a game they played when they were kids. Once a big wave crashes on shore, you chase the tide back to the ocean and touch it before the next wave breaks. One word: Terrifying!