'twas a few days past christmas...

 

Cameron, Lauren, and Landon’s

12 Highlights of ‘12

 

January: We took a trip to El Salvador to visit the people and places Cameron fell in love with during his mission. The food was delicious. The traffic was terrifying. The people were the friendliest on earth. Endless thanks to our parents who each took turns watching Landon while we were away.

February: For Valentine’s Day, Lauren got the present she had hoped for since she was a little girl: a power sander. No kidding. And this wasn’t even a give-a-gift-so-that-Cameron-can-use-it gift. Lauren has used it many times to complete DIY projects around the house, and with it, our garage is looking less and less like a scene from "Hoarders."

March: We won’t go into the details, but we got pregnant again. We are expecting a baby girl any day now. She is due on January 3rd, but with early contractions and false labor, we just hope to avoid Christmas day for the delivery.

April: Lauren turned 25. Some of her favorites: taking and editing photos, watching sports with Cameron falling asleep while Cameron plays with her hair, Landon’s nap time, talking with Tamara, thrift store shopping, and she just finished decorating the new baby’s nursery with Stephanie Steed’s help. It looks AMAZING.

May: We celebrated our third wedding anniversary. And we are still best friends.

June: Cameron turned 25. Some of his favorite things include UNLV Basketball, bike rides with Landon, discovering delicious recipes and perfecting them, Coldplay, and he recently discovered a new passion for indexing genealogical records.

July: Landon turned two. He really is a good little boy, but he is also in his Terrible Twos. You would think that we live with a suicidal psychopath the way we have to lock up any and every drawer that contains anything Landon might use to hurt himself. Some of his favorite things are Coldplay music videos, "Call Me Maybe" (Hey… it’s catchy and you know it), chocolate milk at Papa’s house, chapstick, lip gloss, going to the park, and riding his nursery friends like a cowboy (yeah…we’re trying to stop that one).

August: At the end of the summer, we took two family vacations: first to Lake Powell with the Cizmas crew, and then to Carlsbad with the Busbys. Both trips were great but both ended less-than-ideally. At Powell, Cameron fell off the back of the boat and got his leg caught in the swim ladder as he fell like a sack of potatoes into the lake. Luckily he did not break any bones, but he still has a scar on his elbow and a bruise on his leg to show for his ninja kick on the ladder. In Carlsbad, Landon thought it would be a good idea to test the durability of our iPod touch by throwing it off of a third-story balcony onto the cement porch below. The iPod didn’t survive. Landon barely did.

September: Landon started climbing out of his crib and getting out of his room any time he was supposed to go to sleep. We both knew that we needed to do something to keep him in the room, but Cameron was slow to act. Let’s just say that Landon went wandering on a certain "romantical" night and it got Cameron to buy a lock for Landon’s door the next day. It probably goes without saying, but a tiny person appearing in the room saying, "Mama… I got out" really has a way of killing the mood.

October: We said goodbye to Uncle Dilly, and Cameron and Landon paid homage to him and Mitchell by dressing up as missionary companions for Halloween. We also started a new tradition for Halloween night by having soup and HOMEMADE donuts for friends and family that stopped by. Mark it in your calendars for next year. It will be delicious again, we promise.

November: Landon made a new best friend when his Uncle Mitchell returned home from his mission in Honduras. Although they are best buds, Landon struggles with Mitchell’s name—it comes out more like "Mitches". You don’t need much of an imagination to think of which swear word Landon mistakenly blurts out when calling for Mitch. His most vulgar outburst came one evening when Landon was saying goodnight to everyone by name, including "Ni-night B!*@#es!"

December: Cameron finished his 3rd semester at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law. That makes him half-a-lawyer. He believes that as such, he is entitled to charge a reasonable $75 per hour for any services rendered. You will notice that this family update letter could have been shorter, but he has learned a thing or two about billable hours, thus all of you can expect a bill in the upcoming days for the 1.3 hours he spent writing this letter, and an additional .1 hours for the time you spent reading it.  I would suggest you just pay up and don’t ask questions, any calls or complaints will just start the clock all over again.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and fantastic year in 2013!