camping, BBQ and a baby blessing

We had a great weekend!  On Friday we headed to a local canyon with 30 other people from the ward and camped.  We had tons of baby campers, some 1st timers and I don't think any last timers.  SUCCESS!!!  We ate, camp-fired, slept (not much), rapelled (some 1st timers on that one too!) and the kids climbed rocks until they couldn't climb any more. 

Em and her best buddy Jayne.  These two think something is wrong if they don't get to play every day. 

Jayne's little sister, Jersey.  a.k.a "Jers" to Van, his partner in crime.  These two are trouble.

A little PJ rapelling with my friend Sonna - her 1st time!  She did great!

These cute girls drug their camp chairs all over kingdom come. 

Dad and cute Van eating man-sized sandwiches for dinner in the back of Ruby.

 And we got together with my red heads and their families for a little BBQ since we were all in the same town for once! - for Maggi and David to bless baby Liam in church.  I apparently didn't get any pictures of Jack or Liam, but they were there and they were ADORABLE!!  Our kids play so cute together.  They must love each other because their mommies love each other so much. 

Dudes in the car.  I'm sure you can imagine how much coaxing it took to get Van out of this car for any extended period of time. 

young love - Isn't Russell's smile the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Look out boys - that little girl is a knock out!  Russell seems to think so!

happy wednesday (hump day)!!

Wow!!  I'm doing this two weeks in a row.  Not bad.  Though I haven't blogged anything in between. 

Some things that made this Hump Day a happy one. 

• Van sitting on my lap "helping" me with a project when he was supposed to be taking a nap.  (If Van could talk, he'd probably pipe in: "Mom, almost 2-year-olds totally don't nap anymore.  How could you ask me to miss all that action while I'm asleep?")  He was so sweet sitting with me cutting stuff with his little scissors and trying not to get burnt by the glue gun.  
• The ladies I serve with in Relief Society.  We had a Presidency meeting last night.  Man, I love those 3.  They are strong, they are compassionate, they are hilarious.  
• My hubby calling me every 20 minutes for part of the afternoon.  Turns out he was trying to prevent my loneliness for him.  And I thought he was just really bored.  He loves me. 
• That my daughter loves to accessorize.  Jacket, hat, necklace, scarfs, a million hair bows, etc, etc, etc.  SO not like her mama.  I love to see what she picks out to wear every day.  
• Emery's nose - aka her sniffer.  That girl can smell anything from a mile away... or 10 minutes later.  I had a banana and peanut butter in the kitchen this morning.  5 minutes after it was all gone and put away Emery comes down stairs and says, "Mom, I want a banana and peanut butter too."   To which I reply, "What do you mean, too?"  She says, "Mom, you had a banana and peanut butter.  I can smell it." 
• Needing to wear a jacket today.  It felt so good to need a jacket after months of blistering in the heat!  

No pictures again... my computer isn't really working.  That was not a happy part of today.  :)

Hope your Wednesday was as happy as mine! 

Happy Hump Day!

I've always laughed that Wednesday is often referred to as "Hump Day", but it really is a good descriptor!  It's the middle of the week, right at the top of the hump, not quite close enough to the weekend.  It's the day that makes it feel like it must have been at least 4 days since your almost 2 year old napped (because he's so grumpy... or is that me that's grumpy?...), like you don't have even 1/4 of the things done you need to get done before the end of the week and that it feels like it must be at least another 5 until Friday night when hubby might get off at a decent time. 

So to add a little happiness to my Hump Day, here are some things that make me happy.  I think I'll do this every Hump Day! I feel better already!

• Making my bed every day.  This isn't something I've always been great about, but my new Kohls finds (quilt and euro shams - $30, Britt's happiness - priceless) have given me new motivation.  I feel happy about my room every time I walk in and see my bed.  
• Missionary opportunities.  It turns out opening my mouth is easier than I thought, especially when the Lord keeps handing me people to talk to.  I'm so thankful for my testimony of the gospel and the way it grounds me. Even when we understand pieces of Christianity differently, it has been a real blessing to see what peace our Savior brings to people I didn't even realize knew Him. 
• My hair.  Vain as it sounds, it made me really happy when someone I see weekly at the gym asked if I'd gotten extensions!  Maybe it's finally getting long! 
• Reading to my kids.  They made "beds" under my desk yesterday and we laid under them two different times and just read for a while.  Even Van held still.  
• Playing raquetball with Aaron.  Man, we're bad.  But I almost peed my pants laughing.  And I won.  :) 
• Cooler weather.  Watching my kids play together on our porch again melts my heart.  I'm such a lucky mom.  

Happy Wednesday, everyone! 

my hubby, the CPA

he passed the last section of the CPA exam!!!  glory, glory hallelujah, he's done!  we're done!  i've never known anyone so motivated and hard working.  i know it was a long, 19-month sacrifice of lots less biking, running and fun that is normal for you, but your wife and kids appreciate your sacrifice and we're so proud of you!

love,
Mrs. CPA

Labor Day

 On our way home from Lake Powell we camped up Cedar Canyon near Mammoth Caves.  The kids 1st caving experience was a little sketchy... but I'm sure they'll be more psyched about it when they're older.  :)  We had fun spending time in the great out doors, playing Indians, building a fire, roasting marshmellows and just being together for another day before we had to get back to real life.  

love Em's face in this one

and Van's face in this one

Mammoth Caves are really cool - put it on your to-go list!

Lake Powell 2011

 Our Wilkinson Family goes to Lake Powell every year.  We've been Lake Powell slackers for the last few years for various reasons (no money, Aaron can't come, etc.) and haven't been since I was pregnant with Emery.  We finally got to go again this year and had sooooo much fun!  We missed Amy and the Hatches, but everyone else was able to make it.  The kids had a blast playing with cousins in the mud and water for 5 whole days and I think they would have been happy to never leave!  We split up the cooking and all did a day and it worked out great.  All of the food was delicious and we learned a lot about what worked and didn't work for next year with 22 people on one house boat.  The kids did great - slept like a dream in the tent every night, Van fell asleep in my lap a few times (my dream come true) and we even managed to escape sun burns.  Thanks mom and dad - we can't wait for next year! 

Can you tell I'm in heaven?

My handsome guy and his beautiful mama

Mud, a truck and a giant hole to sit in.  What more could a Van need?

Love those Rusts

Van and Rowan (Row boat)

Not too shabby for a desk-sitting accountant, eh?

There were 2 pregnant people on the boat - but these weren't them. 

Dad looked lovely in my skirt

our newest addition.... and a newer one....

Meet Zoom-Zoom.


Zoom-Zoom joined our family for a short time. Mazda5. Think minivan/wagon hybrid. A 6-seater. Lots more room than the Beast (the Corolla we've always had). We bought her in June. We liked Zoom, but just didn't love her.

So we traded her in for the dream. (Yes, this is our dream car.) Meet Ruby.

Here's the swagger wagon in all her camping glory.

8-seater Toyota Sienna. It's so good to be back in a Toyota. We're just Toyota people. I don't think we'll ever buy non-Toyota again. And she's Certified Used... so if anything does happen to go wrong (which it won't - it's a Toyota, people!), Toyota has to fix it, bumper to bumper through 2015.

I'm lovin' life. Lovin' being a minivan momma. Now we just need more kids. Or more crash pads. Or more bikes. Or more kids, crash pads and bikes!

And if you haven't seen the swagger wagon video you really need to see it.

http://www.youtube.com/toyotaUSA/?x=1sienna