Whirwind August

Hello friends. So here I am giving a monthly update yet again. Lots happened during the last month, it's gone by so fast. Here's the run-down:

We went to Bear Lake at the end of July/beginning of August. It was so much fun! We went with my parents, my Aunt Christie, her kids Tyler and Jess, and Jessica's boyfriend Dave (or Dave #3 as he's known in the family). We had a great time making dutch oven food, talking, playing games, and having fun on the beach and in the lake. Here are some pictures from our little trip. I love Bear Lake!

Burying Uncle Mark in the sand.

Squirting Grandpa Scott with the water gun!
Emma got one of her books out of her backpack and started reading to Abby, Jess's boyfriends dog. It was so cute!Waiting for our dutch-oven dinners to finish.

Nothing says camping like S'mores. Emma loves them!
Cal was not a happy camper. He was sad he couldn't get down and play because he would really try to eat the sand. So we had to restrict him a lot.

Having fun playing on the beach.

Splashing in the water.

Eating the sand. Taking a break to eat some lunch. Cheeto fingers!
The day we got back, Dave went to work, as usual at Consulmed and got laid-off. In a way, we were glad because lots of junk is going on there. They were sending the workers in his department home early every day or asking them not to come in because there was no work. So we kind of had a feeling. But it was a really bad time to do it. He would be doing his internship during the entire month of August, so he wouldn't be able to get another job, because of his wierd schedule. So we've been applying for jobs all over ever since, but still no luck. If anyone has an opening for a new Hospital Administration Grad, let us know! (: We've also been researching and getting information about graduate programs for Masters of Health Administration degrees.
Dave finished up his internship at McKay Dee Hospital in the Pediatric Department on the 27th of the month. He had a great time doing that, and loved working with Neil Garner, who was over him. Which, by the way, if you live in Ogden, vote for him for City Council here in the upcoming election. So Dave's been home most of the time, which has been so nice, but at the same time, we are really looking for something, and soon!

Hey, anybody gotta job for me?

I started a job not too long ago, and now it's really starting with school back in session. My new job title is a Gold Medal School mentor, I work for the Department of Health. The Gold Medal Schools program is in most elementary schools in Utah, and it promotes healthy eating, exercise, and staying drug and alcohol-free. I help organize GMS assemblies, activities to promote the criteria, help the kids walk the Gold Medal mile and get excited about the program, decorate the bulletin boards, track the miles the kids and faculty walk, and lots of other odds and ends. So far, I've really enjoyed it, and it is a program I believe in. It's just 8 hours a week, so I'm not away from the fam too much, and actually, I can take the kids with me a lot. So it's been really nice, and I've enjoyed what I've been doing so far.

I also recently started playing with the Ogden Concert Band. We have already played at Hill Air Force Base and Layton Ampitheatre. I've really enjoyed it - it gives me something to practice for. And as much as I like playing solos, I love playing with a group. Band nerd for life! Here we are at HAFB. And a picture of Cal crawling (yes, he's crawling all over now!) and Emma by a "Sweet giant tire!"

We celebrated our anniversary on August 10. We had a great time! We went to Corbin's for lunch, which was delicious. Then we had a day riding up Farmington Canyon and by the "B" in Bountiful. It is always so much fun to get away from the kids and not have to worry about them. We stayed overnight at the "luxurious" Motel 6, which is about all our budget could afford. We watched our wedding video and talked and just enjoyed each other. I made heart fruit pizzas that we ate. The next morning, we went swimming and laughed a lot. It was great, and I love my sweet Dave. He is so good to me and I'm grateful for him and all he does.

Here's a pic Dave took of me, overlooking Morgan. Happy anniversary!

We went on a "staycation" with my parents, Marko and Amy & Kolby. My dad got us all Salt Lake Connect passes for two days. And we were able to do lots of fun things with them.

Day 1 we visited the Zoo. The Zoo is always fun, my favorite thing was a baby giraffe that was born a few days earlier. Also, there was this monkey that was going crazy. It was making the wierdest sounds!
Next, we were off to This is the Place Heritage Park. We went on train rides, visited a few of the homes and Emma rode a pony. She did a great job and loved every minute of it.

We went to the Gateway next for the Clark Planetarium to see a few shows. We saw one about Saturn and then a 3D Bug one. And looked around at all of the displays.

We went to Discovery Gateway for a while next, and then to the Lion House for a yummy dinner.

Day 2, we started out at Thanksgiving Point and the Museum of Ancient Life. The best part for Emma was building our own dinosaurs, and playing in the sand.

Here's Prehistoric Dave...Shark Attack!

We then went to the Living Aquarium! We liked the exhibits, Emma drove the boat, Cal was fascinated by the fish, and we saw a bird/exotic insect show too.

Last, we drove up to Snowbird to ride the tram. The view was breathtaking!

We've also been keeping busy this month with playgroup events and fun with friends. Here are some pictures of Emma and her little buddies this summer.

Uakea, Emma and Arianna at the Dinosaur Park for Playgroup.
Cal & Emma...yum! Dino burgers.
Emma and Maverick eating ice-cream on a hot summer afternoon.
Emma and Tayla dressing up. That's one of Emma's favorite things to do lately!
Emma at Katelyn's birthday party. We've had lots of birthday parties this month, as many of Emma's little friends were born right around the time she was. It's fun having so many friends so close in age.

Cal is now 9 months! As I mentioned earlier, he is now crawling! He's been crawling for about a month and a half now. He loves his new independence from crawling, and loves pulling himself up onto things and cruising around. He is a dare-devil! He is always getting into everything, and a very busy kid. He also got two teeth on top, for a total of two teeth. But he is getting big and doing a lot.

I love solid foods! There has never been a food we've tried that Callahan hasn't liked. Making the escape! He'll see something he wants, and books it, he can get going fast! He's a very determined little boy!

Crawling Cal...

The kids playing together. They do pretty well most of the time. Callahan can actually kind of play back now, so that helps. And Emma just adores him, and is nice, mostly! It is the cutest thing when Callahan wakes up and sees Emma for the first time, he just lights up and gets so happy! He loves his big sis!
Emma is now 3! I can't believe she is that old already! Where does the time go? She is really growing up and getting cuter each day. She makes us smile a lot, and we love what she adds to our family. She had a great birthday! It was her first friend birthday party, and we did a Prince/Princess Party.

Here's how her birthday cake turned out.

Emma dressed up like Cinderella, her favorite princess! During the party, it ripped down the middle, and she and the rest of the kids were jumping in puddles, it was pretty funny! So needless to say, her dress was toast. But she had a great time, and that's what matters.
The kids decorated crowns with little jewels (or some of them did...he he! Some have a longer attention span than others). They turned out pretty cute!


The Frog Prince hopping contest.
Aidan and Tavin side-walk chalking.

We had a little princess tea party with crackers, meat and cheese, egg salad sandwiches, vegetables and fruit wand kabobs, and princess punch.

The baby blanket!
Singing "happy birthday"!

Cinderella made a guest appearance. And some of the little girls dressed up also, so it was really cute!
On Emma's real birthday, we went to Chili's for lunch. She loves Chili's (though she's only been there once ever before. Anytime we pass there or Applebees, she'll yell "Chillllis" or "Apple-bees!" out loud). She had fun and loved finding the pictures of Chili's in the restaurant. And she loved the cheesecake she ordered! (I guess she takes after her mom!)

We had her family party that night at the splash park. Emma loves that place so it only seemed appropriate! We had pizza and salads and slushies to eat, on Emma's request. Here's her cake for her family party. That one was a quicky, and it split down the middle because the jello center was too heavy for the cake.Blowing out the 3 candles.Opening presents. A kitty! Emma named this one "Whiskers"Marko and the girls relax after running in the water.Sadly, the summer is sliding away and coming to an end (dontcha just love puns?). It's been a great one, but we look forward to fall and the upcoming year and all it will bring!

The Campbell's Condesned Version of Our Summer so far...

The past month has been exciting for our family! June 26 brought the return of my little brother, Mark. We are so excited to have him home now. Here's Emma with the sign we made for him. We also decorated his room with balloons and signs. He got a kick out of them.

"Hey Emma, do you remember me?" is what Mark said to Emma. He loved being the cool uncle before he left, and he's now resumed his post, though it took Emma a couple of weeks to get used to him. She wouldn't even give him hugs, but now she laughs and always asks me "Mom, where's Marko?" "Let's go see Marko!". (Sorry, my camera was turned on the wrong setting, so lots of these pictures were blurry)

Here's the group who picked Marko up from the airport. Marko served in the Chile Antifagasta mission. He looks about the same, though he's got a great tan and wears glasses a bit now. He also acts about the same, though you can detect that Chilean spanish accent still, and he'll be talking in English, then slip into his espanol. It's pretty funny.

Marko with his sisters! We all love Marko, he's such a great kid! A few days after Mark got home, he was off to Michigan to see our oldest brother, Adam. So we haven't all been together for over two years, but hopefully we will all reunite this November, when Adam, Meghan & their new little baby Steven will be coming to visit us in Utah.

We had a great time the day he got home. We had a steak lunch, and then just talked and listened to stories and caught up. Marko also brought home some souveniers and trinkets. Here's Emma trying on a soccer jersey he brought home.

The family group shot after Marko's homecoming. He did a great job speaking and our little Marko is not so little anymore. He's grown up now! It was so good to hear his testimony also. I'm grateful to have family members who are going in the right direction.

Marko and Cal have already bonded (it didn't take long for Callahan, like it did for Emma). Here they are playing together. Mark is so fun with kids, they all love him!

Classic Stoddard sibling pic (Adam, we can photoshop ya in!). We've used this pose since Adam left on his mission several years ago.

Mark loves helping out with the kids and playing with them. Here he is after feeding Cal. Marko adjusted pretty quickly to life at home. The day he got back, he was cranking his SKA and rock music up loud while he took a shower, and asked to pull the car over to get a jr. bacon cheeseburger at Wendy's on the way back from getting mission pics at Costco. He's pretty funny.

Ah, the dog days of summer. Emma and Cal love summer, as I do. Somuch fun and so much to do!

One night, we went to the Mayan for dinner, and then to the REAL SL soccer game. Emma had so much fun playing on the statues outside while we were waiting. She loved sliding down and climbing on them.

Once we got inside the Mayan, it was a different story. "This is spooky" Emma kept saying. Se did like the waterfall, and the food, but I think the lighting, sounds, and cliff-divers scared her.

Here's Dave & Emma at the Real Game. It was pretty fun, and REAL actually won, which was great, because they haven't been doing so hot this season. It was a pretty exciting, fast-paced match.

Cal, the little soccer fan...
Emma is having a fun time with Callahan, and he's able to handle a little more now. She is very sweet to him (99% of the time! There are occasional incidents) and loves to help me with him and play with him. She calls him "Handsome Man", "Little Boy" and "Cal Boy" the most. My favorite is when she speaks to him in "Motherese", that high-pitched Mom to baby talk.

Our day at the Zoo was fun! Emma loves the Merry-Go-Round (She thinks it's called the "American Round") but doesn't like the animals that go up and down.

The waterfountain, it's a classic! That's one of the things I remember from a young age about Hoagle Zoo. Here Tayla and Emma are enjoying a drink.

Callahan was a happy boy at the Zoo! I personally think he could get away sneaking in with the Chipmunks exhibit, with his cute two front teeth. Oh wait, they don't have chipmunks at the Zoo.

"How do you measure up?" Most ask if Callahan is 4 or 5 months, but he's almost 8 now. He's always been a little guy!

Little Pioneer Girl! Emma had a great time with Pioneer Day. Her most recent favorite song is "Little Pioneer Children". She sings it all of the time. And the oxcart one. She likes that one too.

Emma and Callahan in the parade! Yee-haw!

For our ward's playgroup, we created our own "covered wagon" and entered it into the Ogden Pioneer Days Children's Parade. We had a great time! Here's what we came up with:

I don't know if you can see them, but we had "seagulls" flying from the truck. It looked kind of fun (great idea, Natalie!)

Here are some of the ward buddies in the float. From left to right, Natalie Chesley and her little girl Alexia, Vladimir Canro, Arianna and Amanda Canro.

Emma and Arianna on the float after the parade. Arianna thought it was too loud and had her hands over her ears the whole time. Emma said during the last few minutes "Mom, are we done yet?" and she began crying. She was done. Good thing this parade wasn't very long!

We went to the rodeo, and our own little rodeo queen had a fun time at her first rodeo. She really liked those horses!

Callahan at the rodeo. He really liked trying to eat the camera, like he's doing here.

The Ogden mounted police possee. That was pretty cool. They were making all kinds of cool formations and doing fun tricks. I didn't know they existed!

Pioneer Day! The Bountiful Handcart days parade. Emma and Tayla loved the candy and marching along with the music. It was hot, but worth it, it was a fun parade!

Emma watching the fire engines pass by. "They're too loud!"

We had a yummy pioneer-authentic (or as close as we could get...I'm sure the pioneers would be living it large with this food) dinner. Here's Kolby, Emma, Mark, Dave, and Cal helping finish up the dutch oven cooking. We had ham, baked beans, pioneer salad and dressing, homeade whole-wheat bread and jams, and peach cobbler and homeade ice-cream for dessert. It was fun.

Later on the 23rd, we saw the Meuller Park fireworks. Callahan has loved fireworks this year, and Emma still does. He was also fascinated by the glow sticks, which Grandma Sue has in large supply.The Handcart Days festivities at the park. Emma loved swinging more than anything (well, and the snowcones!). Phew! Okay, I'm done now! I tried to keep it brief. Hope everyone is having a great summer!