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Our life through photos.


2011 Photos


   
December 30, 2011-January 1, 2012 New Years Eve 2011

To ring in the New Year we drove down to So. Cal to celebrate with Kirk and Lindsey and Andy and Danielle. On our way we stopped to visit Christian's Grandma Gail, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Susie. It was a whirlwind weekend but we had a fabulous time, as always. What fun to watch the three cousins play together and to toast to a new year!

   
December 14-26, 2011
Woodbridge Christmas 2011

We were so lucky to be able to host an early Christmas with Christian's family at our home this year. What a treat to have everyone together to celebrate! We even had a visit from Santa, which Camille absolutely loved! We had a quiet family celebration on Christmas morning and later joined Janet, Gary, Mike and Susie. The day after Christmas we drove to Sonora to visit Uncle Danny, Aunt Diane, Erik, Julie, and Heather. Treasured memories.

   
November 19-29, 2011
Quincy Thanksgiving/Christmas Celebration

Always thankful to be able to travel to see Tara's family in IL. This year it was Christmas at Thanksgiving and we even snuck in a birthday celebration for Tara's brother, Bret. We crammed in lots of fun activities including a Thanksgiving feast, Christmas Eve dinner, and Christmas Day along with jumping in the leaf piles and feeding Grandpapa's chickens. We had a wonderful, memorable time.

   
October 30, 2011
49er Game

We were so excited to have the opportunity to go to a 49er game while we were in San Francisco for the weekend. It was a gorgeous day in the city! Fun to see everyone in costume for Halloween, although Camille was not at all excited about the man dressed as a gorilla. It was the perfect day and ended with a win!

   
October 25, 2011
Pumpkin Patch Fun

Home from our Hawaiian vacation we decided to take a quick trip to the pumpkin patch!

   
October 13-24, 2011
Maui 2011

After finishing one of the biggest and most difficult shows of the year we all, Christian especially, were ready for a quiet family vacation. How lucky and blessed we were to get to spend 12 days in sunny Maui on the shores of Ka'anapali! It was the best, most relaxing time. We swam, ran, snorkeled, and Christian was able to go on two dives. We celebrated Christian's birthday with a delicious dinner at Duke's. The weather was perfect every day which made it extremely difficult to leave! We stayed at the Westin Ocean Villas and spent every day at one or more of the four pools. Camille became a little fish and was so adventurous she began swimming under water! We also got to see a hula dancing show at Whaler's Village! Truly a memorable vacation.

   
September 23-October 23, 2011
Camille is 27 months!

So much happens in the span of a month which makes it increasingly difficult to remember it all! The weather continues to be beautiful so we've spent a lot of time outdoors. This month we were once again in San Francisco, this time for Oracle OpenWorld. We also took a family trip to Maui! We got our first rain of the season and headed outside to splash in puddles and listen to the raindrops on the umbrella. Camille has been singing so much more lately, which is music to our ears. Our favorite songs are those she makes up while she's talking to us. She loves playing with her dolls and toys but her favorite activity is reading. She loves a good snuggle while reading and we're happy to oblige. This month Tara began "preschool" with Camille. Camille is so excited she wakes up each morning asking, "Is it preschool today? Are you my teacher, mommy?" It is exciting to watch her learn and grow and how lucky we are to be a part of it every day!

   
September 29-October 7, 2011
Oracle OpenWorld 2011, San Francisco

Another big show for Christian, another opportunity to play in the city for Tara and Camille! This time Camille had an idea! We were given a book called Good Night San Francisco by a friend of Tara's and we have read it to Camille more times than we can count. Before we left she asked if we could see everything that was in the book and of course we told her we would attempt to. Camille and Tara spent the week visiting as many places from the book as possible and made quite a dent! They were also able to spend time with new friends which made it all the more fun! Every night we read the book and talked about what we had seen and what more to see. We didn't quite make it to everything, but in time we're sure to! Christian worked tirelessly all week long and was happy for it to come to an end and join us on an excursion to the Palace of the Legion of Honor to see The Thinker. We were also lucky enough to see the Blue Angels practice for the Fleet Week Air Show. In the middle of the week we were saddened by the news of the death of Steve Jobs. He has been a hero and an inspiration to us, especially Christian, for many years. It was somber at the entrance of the SF Apple Store with so many people writing messages and posting them on the glass walls. "Three apples have changed the world. One seduced Eve, the second awakened Newton, the third one was in the hands of Steve Jobs."

   
August 23-September 23, 2011
Camille is 26 Months!

Another month full of fun activities! Camille has enjoyed spending every day all day outside. She has a pool and water table to splash around in and takes full advantage of both. This month we added a sandbox which she just loves! We've taken numerous trips to the park, in fact we go at least once a day. Often times we are joined by several other neighbor kids which makes it that much more enjoyable! We've also gone to our local zoo which is just the perfect size for toddlers. Camille is as curious as ever and continues to explore her world with enthusiasm. It has been such a fun summer!

   
August 21-September 3, 2011
Dreamforce, San Francisco

Christian was called onsite for one of the biggest shows of the year, Dreamforce. Camille and Tara joined him for the majority of the time which was both exciting and exhausting! While Christian was setting up networks and accommodating the 45,000 registered attendees, Tara and Camille were able to spend time visiting friends and sightseeing. Camille's favorite by far was our excursion to the Golden Gate Bridge. She pointed it out in every photo and drawing and was thrilled to be able to walk across it. We were joined by Grami at the end of the week who babysat while Christian and Tara enjoyed a night out and also enabled Tara to sub for a day. Several of Christian's cousins joined us on Friday night for a dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and we got to meet the newest member of the family! It was great fun, but we are all very happy to be home again!

   
August 14-16, 2011
Trip to Sonora

On our way back home from Southern California we took a detour to Sonora to spend a few nights at Uncle Danny and Aunt Diane's. It was a wonderful opportunity for Camille to meet Aunt Diane and cousin Heather and spend more time with Uncle Danny and cousins Erik and Julie. We all had the best time swimming, exploring, and playing with the five playful pups running around. It was over too quickly but we're hoping to do it again very soon!

   
August 13, 2011
Cousin Reid's First Birthday Celebration

Once again we were reminded how quickly time passes as we drove to Southern California to celebrate our darling nephew's first birthday. This was Camille's first roadtrip post-potty training and she did amazingly well! We are so proud of her! She was delighted (as were we) to be spending the weekend with Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and "Baby Reido!" Lindsey did a fantastic job with Reid's turtle-themed party. Reid was running around, giggling and smiling, but paused long enough to check out his turtle cake! We're pretty sure the biggest hit (for both Reid and Camille) was his new ball pit! What a sweet little bundle of joy he is.

   
July 28, 2011
First Boat Trip

After spending the summer watching boats go by and hopping in and out of the boat in the garage, we finally pulled it out of the garage and headed out to the Delta. Camille was thrilled to finally be able to take a ride in a real boat! Initially she was nervous but she soon was squealing with joy and enjoying the ride, even driving!

   
July, 2011
Two Year Photo Shoot

She is getting big so fast and constantly on the move but she slowed down and humored us long enough to get a few snapshots to mark this big milestone. Her smile is infectious!

   
July 23, 2011
Camille's 2nd Birthday

A perfect day to celebrate our sweet girl turning two! We began with a song and birthday pancake, continued on at Sabbath School where she got to blow out two candles while her friends sang, then on to Grami's house for a fun birthday party with family and lots of friends. The theme this year was "Ladybugs" and our little lady enjoyed every minute! What a treat to have so many people join us to celebrate! She's still not too excited about cake ("Mommy, that's yucky!") but presents were really fun to open, especially with an audience! It was a wonderful day and we feel so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family (near and far!) who love Camille and enjoy watching her grow.

   
July 23, 2011
Camille is 24 Months!

It's official, we have a two year old. The best little two year old we could have ever asked for! Yes, her favorite word might be "No!" but we know this too shall pass. She is as curious as they come, always asking, "What's that?" and "Why?" and "Can Mille try it?" Our girl just wants to have fun! Playing chase, hide-and-seek, and any other game that gets you running or crawling or jumping out with a "BOO!" will send her into fits of giggles. She loves kicking, batting, and throwing balls. She loves playing with and caring for her baby dolls. She also loves pulling and pushing anything she can get to pull or push! Besides the obvious birthday excitement, another highlight this month was that she is now potty trained! We are so proud of her and feel very lucky that it happened so quickly and easily. Another exciting adventure was taking Camille to her very first movie! We took her to the local theater to see "Winnie the Pooh." It was so cute to see all the kids snuggling with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and/or Tigger. Camille took the Pooh! There were a few scary moments for her, but overall she seemed to like it. We still can't believe that we blinked and now she's two...each moment is truly precious.

   
July 2-4, 2011
Fourth of July Weekend 2011

A fun and sun filled weekend! Cousin Brandon visited from Washington and was able to spend a couple nights at our house. Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie drove up to celebrate. We spent lots of time in the pool, ate delicious meals, had a visit from Uncle Chad, Auntie Kelly, and cousin Keira, and got to watch the fireworks just down the street from our house!

   
June 23, 2011
Camille is 23 Months!

Just one month away from turning two, this month has been full of excitement! Camille thoroughly enjoyed having Papa Roly stay with us while looking for a more permanent place nearby. It also made it very convenient to celebrate Father's Day! We also were excited to host Christian's cousin, Andy, and his family for two nights. Camille adores her little cousin Austin! We took numerous trips to the park each week, often times accompanied by friends. One day we were at the park with two of Tara's friends and TEN kiddos! Library day continued to be a favorite part of each week as well. We have been lucky to be able to spend time at Grami's pool. Camille loves the water and is becoming more and more of a swimmer. She jumps off the diving board, holds her breath, kicks, and splashes. She is a typical toddler with boundless energy but also enjoys lots of snuggle time with a good book. We've enjoyed numerous picnics on her patio picnic table and spend hours outside playing in her kitchen, water table, and wading pool. She laughs easily, smiles often, and we love her unconditionally.

   
May 29, 2011
Cousin Derek's Dental School Graduation

While we were in Southern California we attended cousin Derek's Dental School Graduation. We were happy to be able to be a part of such a milestone and get to see more family in the process!

   
May 23-27, 2011
Lake Arrowhead Birthday Celebration

For Kirk's 30th birthday we drove to Southern California to spend a week at Lake Arrowhead. It couldn't have been a more perfect, relaxing week. First, we made a stop in Camarillo to spend some time with Grandma Gail. Once we arrived at Lake Arrowhead we got to spend a little bit of time with Andy, Danielle, and Austin! Such a treat! We had the best time hiking, touring on the Arrowhead Queen, eating delicious food, feeding the ducks, and just relaxing!

   
May 23, 2011
Camille is 22 Months!

There will never be enough words to express the feelings we have whenever we think of our sweet girl. She is just amazing. She continues to be incredibly social and talkative to everyone she meets. This month she figured out how to climb in and out of her crib on her own (only during play time!!). She is running, jumping, hopping and climbing. She can almost count to 20 and recites her ABC's like a pro. She spells her own name, knows her colors, and recognizes over half of her letters. She is still signing and curious to learn more signs. She loves reading her books and often can be found sitting in her room with a book retelling a story to her baby doll or stuffed animals. We wish it were possible to record every minute!! What a joy she is to our lives.

   
May 14, 2011
Cousin Andy's Race

It's always a treat when we get to see Christian's cousin, Andy, ski. We headed over to Sugar Barge for this particular race and got to see Andy, Danielle and Austin, Glen and Terri, along with Uncle Gary and Aunt Bonnie. It was a cold day but we had a really fun time watching the race and getting to take a ride in the boat afterward!

   
May 8, 2011
Celebrating Mother's Day and Tara's Birthday- two for one!

This year Tara's birthday fell on Mother's Day so we went to one of our favorite spots...Capitola. On our way we stopped in Woodside for the May Day celebrations and to give Tara the opportunity to see many previous students, families, and co-workers. It was a beautiful weekend in Capitola. We stayed at a new hotel and will definitely stay there again! Camille thoroughly enjoyed running along the beach, searching for shells, and playing in the sand. A perfect way to celebrate!

   
April 23, 2011
Camille is 21 Months!

Playing on the playground, going to the library, making new friends, "driving" the car, visits from family, visits to family, climbing, running, kicking, chasing bubbles, strolling, signing, singing, talking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, swimming, flying, giggling, questioning, eating, counting, picking flowers, hugging and kissing are all a few of Camille's favorite things at 21 months!

   
April 21-25, 2011
Easter Weekend in Berrien Springs, MI

A special treat for Tara was to be with her family over Easter weekend. We flew to Chicago and drove to Berrien to spend a long weekend with Tara's grandparents, parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was a fun weekend for all of us spending time with family, meeting up with friends, and watching Camille hunt for Easter eggs with 10 second cousins!

   
April 17-18, 2011
Papa Roly Visits Our New Home!

Having not seen Papa Roly since January, we were happy he was able to come up for a visit. Camille was elated to have him here and we're sure the feeling was quite mutual. We're hoping we'll get to see more of him now that we're closer!

   
April 7-11, 2011
Painting Camille's Room

We were so excited to have Auntie Lindsey and Baby Reid come visit us for a long weekend. Tara and Lindsey were finally able to paint Camille's room and it turned out even better than the first time! It's absolutely perfect! Camille was so happy to have her "friends" back on the walls that she threw her arms around them. Cousin Brandon was also here and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her.

   
March 23, 2011
Camille is 20 Months!

Fresh from our trip to the Midwest, Camille turned 20 months old. We can't say enough how much joy she brings to our lives on a daily basis. This month was another busy one for us as we worked to settle in to our new home. Camille has had a tough time with the adjustment, but overall has been amazing! She is incredibly energetic and loves running around our front yard. She especially loves when the neighbor kids are out and make their way over to play. For the most part the weather has been nice and we've been able to take several trips to the nearby park. She was so happy to find the play structure has stairs and has now master walking up and down the stairs as well as climbing the ladder. To our delight she sings so much more these days. Often we will hear her singing "Jesus Loves Me" or "ABCs" and most recently she has started singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb." She can sing most all of the "ABCs" and "Ring Around the Rosies." She also loves babies! At the wedding she was completely captivated by Tara's cousins little boy, Ethan. She just sat and stared at him, kissed him, and held him for the longest time. Now that we're home she still talks all about "Baby Ethan." She also cut another tooth while we were in St. Louis (it always seems to happen when we're traveling!!) which brings her tooth count to 12 and counting. She's still working on four more. We are so happy that she continues to have an amazing appetite with some of her favorite foods being mangos, broccoli, asparagus, grapes, and corn chowder! She is certainly trying to assert her independence with us these days by telling us what she wants to wear, which book to read, how she wants her milk (hot or cold), and which shoes to put on. As always, we are blessed beyond words.

   
March 16-21, 2011
Kurt and Trish Get Married

The event we've all been looking forward to finally arrived! Tara's big brother, Kurt, tied the knot in St. Louis to Trish Mitchell. We flew back a few days early so that Christian could participate in the bachelor party with the boys and Tara was able to spend time catching up with her good friend, Kori, while Camille played with her BFF (Kori's daughter, Riley). The weekend flew by, but it was perfect in every way! Friday was rehearsal and a Red Carpet rehearsal dinner with everyone dressed to the nines. It was so fun seeing family and friends and watching Camille reunite with her big cousin, Keira. Saturday was a full day with hair appointments, make-up, a photo shoot that took us around St. Louis, and then the Big Event. Tara was a bridesmaid and Camille a flower girl along with Keira. Tara's brothers, Bret and Chad, were groomsmen and her dad, Gary, officiated. It was a beautiful ceremony. The bride was breathtaking and the groom...speechless. The reception was quite a party with a delectible dinner to start, then dancing until the midnight hour. We, of course, had to laugh when all the other kiddos were sound asleep on their parents laps and Camille was still dancing the night away. The life of the party! Congratulations to Kurt and Trish. We love you so much and wish you a lifetime of wedded bliss!

   
February 23, 2011
Camille is 19 Months!

A month passes by so quickly, it's sometimes tricky keeping up with our energetic sweetheart! This past month has been a whirlwind to say the least. At the beginning of the month we went on Camille's first road trip as we drove from OR to visit Grami and Garball in Northern Ca. Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and baby Reid met us there for a wonderful SuperBowl weekend together. Camille adores "Baby Reido" although I think he is still getting used to the idea of his older cousin. As soon as we got back from our visit we immediately dove into boxes...packing them that is. Camille was very intrigued and quite unsettled as she watched us taking everything from around the house and packing them. What first started out as a game didn't seem much fun to her as it continued. We had immeasureable help from friends and family in packing up our home. On the 18th of the month we made our bittersweet move from OR to Northern Ca. where we now have a new home. Camille has been quite a trooper through it all. It is taking some time for her to get used to the idea that this is now "home" for her. I think when we talk about "Camille's house" she still imagines our old place. She misses the animals painted on the wall and continuously asks for Mommy to paint them. She talks about the library and "Teacher Jaime" whom she adored. She even mentions walking to the mall so that she can get a balloon. There have been a few tough days and nights, but slowly she is starting to settle in. We have a new library and a new teacher there with LOTS of kids. She loves the nearby park and has already made several new friends. She is very excited to see more of Grami and Garball. She loves the neighborhood kids and all the dogs! Unpacking is also a slow process, but we've been able to get mostly done. We have new appliances and soon our shutters will be in! Auntie Lindsey and Reid will be visiting soon to help paint the animals in Camille's room. It's beginning to feel more like home...

   
February 18, 2011
The Big Move

Almost exactly 2.5 years after packing up and heading to the great Northwest, we packed up and headed back to sunny Northern California. We are so blessed to have an amazing family and wonderful friends who volunteered their time to help pack, clean, load, and entertain. We are so grateful! Our move was going well until we realized we were running out of room in the truck. We had NO idea that we would fill up the largest truck we could rent! Unfortunately, we had to say good-bye to some things but fortunately they all found good homes. The day of our move we were up early, loaded, and ready to go. Funny thing...the truck was dead. After a call to the company and breakfast compiments of Starbucks and Whole Foods, we finally set out on our way just two hours later than planned. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Christian was a marathon driver, driving the truck the entire distance. Tara was able to trade driving with Janet who had flown up to help. The scenary was breathtaking...it's days like that that make us think we could actually live in OR indefinitely. But here we are, back in CA making our new house into home sweet home.

   
February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day

What more can we say? We've got the sweetest little Valentine one could ever ask for!

   
February 3-8, 2011
Road Trip!

We loaded Camille up early in the morning and headed south to Grami's eagerly anticipating a fun-filled SuperBowl weekend with Grami, Garball, Kirk, Lindsey and Baby Reid. Camille was such a trooper the entire trip. She sang, talked, slept (a little), watched the scenary, and only got really antsy about the last 45 minutes of our trip. She LOVED our pitstop at McDonald's playland. We'll keep that in mind for future trips for sure!

   
January 23, 2011
Camille is 18 Months!

One and a half. For some reason it seems so much older than saying 18 months, so we're going to keep counting by months for now. There is really nothing we enjoy more than watching Camille hopping and bouncing around the house. After being away for 25 days, she was bounding around the house so happy to be home in her own bed and playing with her own toys. Her vocabulary has completely exploded and we long ago lost count of how many words she knows but just this month she started calling herself by her own name, our sweet "Mille." She has two new molars which brings her tooth count to 11 with several more on the way. One of her newest accomplishments is the ability to walk up 3-4 stairs on two feet rather than crawling. Lately we have been finding her in the "Downward Dog" position and giggling with delight.  She is adept at using a fork but is still mastering the spoon. Play time is always so much fun, especially with lots of new and wonderful toys to play with after the holidays. She adores her babies and gently rocks them, kisses them, tucks them in the swing or chair and covers them with a blanket. One of our favorite new developments is that she now sings along with us and says the prayer before dinner; there is no sweeter sound. We are continuously blessed.

   
January 18, 2011
A Visit to the Children's Museum

After a few too many rainy days at home we decided it was time to get out! We're sure glad we did because we had a blast at the Children's Museum! We joined our friend, Adrienne, and her two kids and spent the morning playing. Camille loved the pint-sized shopping carts at the pint-sized grocery store.  Brushing the giant teeth of the crocodile was pretty fun and the water room was also a hit with lots to do!  Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to go back again soon!

   
January 1-8, 2011
New Years 2011

On New Years day we headed to Loma Linda, our last stop before heading home. We spent the weekend enjoying time with Papa Roly, Daniel, Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and Baby Reid. Christian flew home early Monday morning, but Tara and Camille stayed on five more days. During their visit they spend lots of time with Papa Roly and Daniel, visited Auntie Lindsey and Baby Reid, took several trips to the playground, had lunch with Auntie Pam, and a dinner with cousins Erik and Julie. It was a fun-filled week for them both but after 25 days away, they were very eager and happy to back home once again!