My bestie

Camilla and I got married 5 years ago today. It was really nice.

We share our anniversary with about 80% of all people who went to BYU, met their soul-mate in the fall semester, and crammed a wedding in between semesters. Yep, we're "those people"; and yep, this is one of "those posts" --- you know the type where you enshrine your spouse so that everyone thinks to themselves "these people are creepy!".

The first thing that you need to know about Camilla is that she is the way she is in large part because of people like the one below, Sofie Ruiz.

Sofie is one of Camilla's favorite converts from her mission to Puerto Rico. Camilla's devotion to the Savior and to family and to the plan of salvation stems from her experience in working with people like Sofie. I appreciate the life perspective that Camilla has and thank my lucky stars every day that she had a chance to serve a mission before I snatched her up.

The next thing you already know about Camilla if you've spent more than 5 minutes with her is that she's a great mother. She loves these crazies (and so do I).

Not only is she a great mother, but she helps me be a better father. She's encouraged me and supported me to be as active as possible in their lives, and when I'm complacent with them she reminds me of what really matters.

Another thing you should know about Camilla is she is fearless. I'm not sure this quality comes out to most who meet her, but to those who know her best its a quality that we all admire in her. She is at peace with life regardless of her surroundings. She can be juggling three cranky kids while trying to shop --- not a big deal. She can be moving to the fourth different state in 5 years and having to reestablish herself in a new ward / neighborhood --- not a big deal. She can be keeping the household together while frequently spending nights alone when I am gone for work --- not a big deal. Nothing rattles her.

The most important thing you should know about Camilla is that she's "my bestie" and I love the life that we share together. It's been the best 5 years, and I'm looking forward to the endless ones to come.

Happy Anniversary Cam.

Halloween 2011

We got back on Halloween day. Lauren dressed King up as a nerd during the week for Halloween parties. Beckham was a hobo and the girls were ballerinas. We went to dinner and didn't get to trick or treat until about 7 pm. The boys werent in the mood for costumes at that point so we dressed the girls and Reed and went out for candy! It was so fun that Sally came up to join. We were also lucky it was such great Halloween weather. The girls only needed a light jacket.

Sofie's School

To say that Sofie loves school would be a vast understatement. She asks every night if the next day will be a school day. They have show and tell every day and she adores her teacher and "school friends" especially Brinley in the yellow sweater. Sofie loves practicing her letters with take home flash cards and knows most of their sounds now. She loves to write the names of our family members. Little e is the trickiest for her. Lucy is dying to go too. She will start in January in their mini 3 class.

Alone Trip

Since I am neither pregnant nor breastfeeding, we decided to take advantage of this rare occurrance and go on an alone trip. Jarem had some airline upgrades to use and we have our 5 year anniversary to celebrate, so we went! We had never been to Europe so we chose a mediteranean cruise so we could see several places fairly quickly. It left us longing to go back. We flew through Dallas, NYC and arrived in Rome, Italy 17 hours later. I even loved this part of the trip because we got to talk and read and watch movies. It was a 17 hour date. Heaven.





Upon arriving in Rome, we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to explore.

Piazza Espana

Inside the Vatican

The Vatican was filled with ornate ceilings done with amazing detail.

St Peter's Basillica

They actually have Mass here and the Pope stands on that stage.

Trevi fountain

Piazza Venezia

We boarded the ship and the next morning arrived in Savona, Italy. We took a 2 hour bus ride to Monoco. It's located inside the boarders of France but it's its own country. Monoco has the highest income per capita in the world. It is owned by the Grimaldi Family.

The "mall" in Monoco. Not your average University Mall.

On the bus.

Our next port was Barcelona, Spain. Two scoops of Gelato por favor.

La Sagrada familia cathedral. They have been building it for about 100 years. Designed by Ghadi to look like a forest inside.

In Palma, and island off of Spain, it wasnt quite warm enough for a beach day so we went to Drach caves. It had stalagmites/tites and pools of fresh water. One was the size of a lake and there we watched a concert performed by an orchestra in row boats inside the cave! It was kind of erie but beautiful. We later got into the row boats and exited on the other side of the underground lake.

Dinner on the ship.

Formal night. Our next stop was Malta. Here Jarem and I are in the front bench seat with the bus driver. Driving on the left side of the road!

We took a speed boat out to the island of Gozo to do a jeep tour.

It rained on and off that day but we didn't mind.

The views were amazing.

A natural arch.

Our last stop was Majorca but we took a bus to Sicily and saw these ancient ruins, some of which were built 500 b.c. The rolling hills and green plots of land were breath taking. We had what we considered to be an authentic Italian meal there consisting of cheese and bread, penne pasta with red sauce, pork chops, sausage and potatoes and a small piece of cake.

Our last night with our dinner friends. By the end of the criuse we felt like family. I really do miss them!

We are still madly in love with eachother and had an incredible time on our 10 day date but after about 24 hours missed the children terribly. Thank you Lauren, Mimi, GopGop and Reed for taking care of our babes. They had so much fun with you!

Breakfast date

Growing up my dad, father of 7, worked long hours and volunteered many hours as he served in various church callings. It was rare that we got one on one time with him except when he took us to Saturday morning breakfast. We anxiously looked forward to every seventh Saturday when it was our turn. He has done this for as long as I can remember and even when I came home from college.
Jarem quickly adopted this tradition when Sofie was born and recently King went on his first man-date with dad. The girls always talk about who's turn it will be the coming Saturday and that they will be the only one on the date with dad.
What an amazing boy I married, huh!

Spanish Fork half

In September Eliza,Jarem and I ran the Spanish fork half marathon. It was gorgeous weather and I finished faster this time in 2:08. I am not a very competitive person and Jarem is very competitive so it was nice to beat him at something. He hadn't run in years but still finished in 2:15. Sally stayed home with the babes and Danny, Tristan, Dallyn and her roomie came to support us! What a fun day!

Bedhead

Hair growth doesn't come easily to many of us Hallows so I thought it pertanent to showcase King's 14 month bedhead. Unfortunate for him, I think his grouchy I-just-woke-up face is the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Dance 2011

The girls both take dance once a week at Center Stage in Orem with Miss Cassie. Lucy is in a 2 year old combo class where they do ballet, jazz, gymnastics and singing in 45 minutes. Sofie is in a class of 3 and 4 year olds where they do ballet, tap and jazz for 1 hour. The girls look forward to dance all week.

These are their "pretty faces".

Lucy requested a "mad face" shot.

The "hands on hips".

For those concerned readers: Sofie got the nasty bruise on her head while hiding from me inside a clothing rounder. Lucy fell and hit her chin on the tile almost 3 weeks ago. It's looking much better!