I LOVE brownies!

Sidney's personality is just getting funner all the time. She gets so excited when anyone new enters the room and wherever we go people have nicknamed her "Smiley". She really is a happy girl though she can also be very serious like her mother. She is finally smiling for the camera though. The other day we gave her some little bites of brownies and man was she grinning from ear to ear. I thought it was so funny so I took some pictures. If you look closely you can see the brownie stuck between her two bottom teeth. Yummy! Greg is a true chocolate lover, so it is no wonder his daughter is too.
By the way, the Campbell family also has something else to smile about. . . we sold our house and are moving February 1st! Hooray!!!!

Happy Birthday Kelly!

I just wanted to pay tribute to my beautiful youngest sister, Kelly today. It's her birthday today and I can't believe she's 14! I still remember her birth like it was yesterday and remember how sweet it was to take care of her during the night the first week of her life so Mom could catch up on some much needed rest. You've grown to be a beautiful young lady and I'm so proud of you! Happy Birthday!

Who says boys can't be culinary

I almost gave up on my kids be handy in the kitchen. Last weekend we decided to have some fun making gingerbread boys since one of our favorite Christmas books is a classic that Greg had when he was a boy called "The Sweet Smell of Christmas." The book has a little bear who smells all kinds of wonderful smells to remind him that Christmas is almost here. Gingerbread boys happens to be one of them. I thought it would be a fun family tradition to make Gingerbread boys every Christmas, and so this tradition begins. Dawson had a blast decorating his cookies - he worked on them for 1/2 an hour! Everett loved eating them - that took about 2 minutes! Sidney is too young for Molasses, so she'll have to wait this one out until next year! We had fun and because I made the dough one day and cut, baked and decorated the next day it didn't seem to take forever. Well, maybe just a little less than forever. Though I wouldn't say its as easy as making chocolate chip cookies, I'm learning more patience to foster the culinary skills of my children.

Another birthday come and gone. . .

Just wanted to let everyone know that I don't feel as old as I look, or should that be I don't look as old as I feel. Okay, maybe the later is more true these days - at least I hope! Raising kids in your 3rd decade of life is definitely not as easy as it probably is in your 2nd decade, but I'm not complaining. I just wanted to tell any and all who read my blog that I'm proud to be 35 and have 3 beautiful young children under the age of 6! I was at the dentist the other day and I told the receptionist that I had 3 kids. She then asked me if Dawson was my youngest kid. Boy, did I feel old then! Here's to living a better 2nd half of my life with 35 years of wisdom under my belt!

Train Ride

When my kids behave well or do random acts of kindness, they get to put sparkle balls into a jar. About a month ago they filled the jar which meant they got to choose a fun activity to go do. So they asked to go on a train ride and we finally figured out a time that would work. So we jumped on the Metrolink in Laguna Niguel and rode the train up to Santa Ana and back. It was actually pretty relaxing and of course the kids had a good time. Dawson said he wanted to take another train trip that lasted all day. Maybe we'll take a train to Utah one of these days. That would be an adventure!

Tagged

So a few people tagged me about a month ago and I haven't gotten around to posting the 7 or so interesting (or not) things about me until now. Sorry! I would tag someone else I know, but I just don't know anyone else who hasn't already be tagged. I'm sure all have forgotten about this and something new has come up, but for those DYING to read something new on my blog, here it is. . .

1. My entire life I've done everything possible to avoid being embarassed. How lame - some of the funniest stories a person can retell often come from embarassing moments. I guess that's why I'm not very funny. Someone please help me make a fool of myself more often!!!

2. When I was little I used to cry at other people's birthday parties because I wanted their gifts, or whatever. As a curse to that, when it is my own birthday I draw as much attention away from myself as possible. It's December 8th, by the way.

3. When I was in 4th grade I was a BIG TIME teacher's pet. Seriously, I had way too many privileges that teachers would probably get in trouble for permitting today. The teacher brought donuts for me every morning, gave me hints to test questions, and let me in the classroom whenever I wanted without supervision. It was kinda cool though!

4. When I was 12 I learned how to sew and made some of the dorkiest clothes you could ever imagine. (Zebra stripes and polka dots.) How could my mom let me wear those things?!?!? Well, at least I can say it paid off later. I made a few of my friends prom dresses and eventually my own wedding dress.

5. Everyone always asks me what my favorite type of nursing was. Well, it wasn't seeing people's faces peeled off during face lifts, and no, is wasn't while assisting doctors stick endoscopes up people's rear-ends, and no, it wasn't while working for a doctor whose patients included celebrities. Honestly, I LOVED working in the ER. Even though I've seen many deaths and open wounds and what-not that most people would cringe at, I just loved the pace, the people, and most of all the excitement. I do miss it.

6. Growing up I LOVED Duran Duran. I was in love with John Taylor. One summer, at the height of their popularity, we kept MTV on all day just to wait for the video for "The Reflex" to come on, which was about every hour. I hung out with 4 cousins and my brother and the 6 of us would go bezerko every time it came on. "Da-nanana, da-nanana." Remeber those days, Dan?

7. My lifelong best girlfriend is my mother. Since I was a young girl we developed a very close relationship that has continued until this day. She has always been such a gentle and kind mother and very patient I might add, unlike myself. There aren't many things we don't share with eachother and I realize what a blessing she has been because she's the kind of best friend that I can't lose touch with.

Hope you had fun reading my dialogue. Do you feel you know me better now? Great!

House for SALE

Okay, so I can finally announce why I've been so busy lately and unable to keep up my blog - well, other than the fact that I have 3 kids. Yes, our house has been on the market for about 1 month now and I've been trying to make it perfect since that time which is an impossible feat. In any case, our potential move was not inspired by the recent changes in the stake, though we are now slightly more motivated knowing that the primary in our new ward may be incredibly tiny - so we've heard. Greg and I can go just about anywhere and adapt to anything, but we have always wanted our kids to grow up having lots of church friends (something Greg and I lacked). In any case, we are so sad to be out of the Aliso Viejo ward, but know that we have made some great friendships and intend to keep them up. At least now we can get the skinny on at least half of the other wards in the Stake to help us choose a place to move to. So we are doing this moving thing a little backwards, but with the real estate market as it is, we figured selling first then buying would be a better option. If anyone reading this has any tips or ideas of how to keep the house clean with kids while our house is on the market, please feel free to offer them. Thanks!