Eli's 3rd Birthday

Our little (big) boy turned 3 yesterday!! I can't believe 3 years have come and gone so quickly but then I look at him and I think, "You're HUGE! How did that happen?" We had chocolate pudding cupcakes (with chocolate chips) and peanut butter frosting (so maybe I picked something I liked a little more than Eli..it had enough sugar that he inhaled it too) for dessert. Since Jake couldn't be home from work till later in the evening we decided to just have a small celebration tonight with our family. Eli's having his best friends over on Saturday for another party.

We got a package from Grandma and Grandpa that morning with a few presents that I put on the table with a couple from us. Eli asked me many, many times yesterday, "Can I open my presents yet?" and I would say, "No, not yet" and he would quickly add, "Not till Daddy gets home!" So as soon as Jake got home with the pizza (Eli's choice for a birthday dinner..) Eli yelled, "You're home Daddy! Can I open my presents now?" Of course we made him wait in agony a little longer while we ate.
He had been eyeing this particular present all day and it turned out to be shirts :) As he was pulling them out he said, "ooooh! It's shirts! Cute shirts!"

And then he (honestly) said, "So what else we got here?"

He got some pretty cool presents from Grandpa and Grandma but this was his favorite

Eli's favorite movie is The Polar Express so he was so excited to get the book. I love that book!

Brynn was so excited to see a little pink package among the pile, I think she knew it was hers.

I've never seen anyone open a present with their teeth before!

This is what Jake and I got Eli (and Brynn), a bounce house! It's perfect, big enough for 5 or 6 little kids but small enough to not take over our backyard, or in this case, our living room. And it honestly only took 2 minutes to set up and about 3 to take down and put away.

Brynn prefers to go down on her belly

Sweaty boy=serious fun (and also bath later that night)

And the weight limit is high enough that I can hang out inside too

Time to sing! Lucky Brynn got her own candle too.

Cupcakes was a good idea...these two like to blow out the candles with spit.

Happy Birthday Eli! You bring me happiness like no other.

BOO!

I can't believe Halloween has already come and gone! If you're anything like us you've eaten your weight in candy the past two days and are ready to throw it all out. I ate raw broccoli for lunch...I think my body is trying to tell me something...

Eli really wanted to be Buzz Lightyear and it turned out to be a pretty popular costume this year! His friend Cooper was also Buzz. There were at least 4 other Buzz's at our church's Halloween party too. It was really cute to see all these Buzz's flying around.
Brynn was a ladybug and she surprised me by loving her tutu. She's not a girl of frills and bows so I was expecting a fight. She did ditch her shoes pretty fast though. he back of the costume. I bought it from my friend Becca's etsy shop, she makes the cutest stuff. You can check her site out here. Brynn modified her costume a little by pulling off all the black dots on her tutu.

Going to get some candy

We know you're in there!!

Brynn didn't give up the fight, she kept waiting at that door, hoping it would open with the offering of some more candy. Luckily we forgot her bag, so the only candy she collected was what she could hold! Eli got enough candy for everyone.

Love my little ladybug

I'm a fan of a good fluffy tutu

Brynn and Liam sharing a meaningful look..

Liam, you are a brave man! She has bitten fingers on occasion.

Buzz and Woody aka Eli and Jack

Jake and I at our church party. Jake won most hilarious costume, I think he deserved it! He's the Stay Puft marshmallow man and I'm a very cheap ghostbuster. My costume was a flight suit and let me tell you, I'm a little jealous Jake gets to wear that every day to work. Pretty comfy. A little toasty but who am I to complain next to Jake who was wearing all that batting?

I'm part of a preschool co-op with a few friends and I was lucky to get to teach the week of Halloween! There are so many fun Halloween activities. One day we did ghosts and made these fun ghost windsocks.I think the kids' favorite was the bat day though. We made these bat hats and they chased each other around speaking 'bat' (high pitched squeaking..they are pros, I can guarantee it).

I Declare War

I realize declaring war isn't the nicest thing to do on the Sabbath, but I know that by saying what I'm about to say, I will in fact be declaring war. So here goes. I, Rachel Camp, have found the best pulled pork recipe yet. But that isn't what will bring the war on, this is: I've tried a few types of BBQ around the US and the best I've had so far is in Texas. Sorry friends, it's true. So I've spent the last few months trying to duplicate my favorite tastes and I have to admit, I was in spectacular form today and ended up with pure joy. Now I can't exactly share my recipe because I added to taste per the size of the roast, but I can share my ingredients. If you decide to try it, I hope you like it as much as we did.

I started with an inexpensive pork loin, sirloin cut. I rubbed it generously with a mixture of these spices: chili powder, red pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, paprika and brown sugar and let it sit overnight. I took it out in the AM and rubbed it with about 1/4 more of the mixture, letting it sit at room temp. for an hour or so. Here I deviated from Texas tradition and used, gasp, a crock pot, because I don't have a smoker. I put the roast and accumulated juices in the pot, along with 1 c. diet root beer, a few tablespoons of hickory liquid smoke (to imitate that smoker taste), a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and half a sliced onion. I set it on low for 6 hours at which time I checked every 30 minutes for an internal temp. of 250-270. Then I pulled the pork and put it back in the crock pot with the juices. Now you're ready to plate up!
We eat ours open faced with a little bit of mayo and our favorite BBQ sauce, Rudy's Bar.BQ Sause. I've tried a lot of BBQ sauce and this is my choice, a little spicy and tangy. You could be ambitious and make your own BBQ sauce but I'm not that ambitious.

(Don't you love the smell of something slow roasting in your house all day?)

Camp Family Food Storage

Short story: We don't drink that much diet soda, although Jake does consume his fair share. Diet Dr. Pepper is his favorite, it's usually $4.50 a box here (which we never pay, we usually buy the generic Diet Dr. B you see in the pic), we saw it on sale for 4/$12. Jake was the kid in the candy store and we ended up with a whole lotta Diet Dr. Pepper.

The day after the wedding we drove through Logan to visit Jake's friend Ben, they have been friends since the 4rth grade! They only get to see each other every few years, so it was nice to catch up.
Eli and Brynn loved his Boxer, Shelley. She was a very patient dog/horse.

After Logan we kept driving till we got to Soda Springs, Idaho, where Jake's brother Joe and his family live. I got to visit them while Jake was deployed last year for Presley's blessing, as you can see she's grown quiet a bit since then! She is such a sweet baby, I had a lot of fun playing and cuddling with her.

Brynn had a blast playing with her cousins Katie and Alyssa. She did try to play with Presley too but she's a little rough to be playing with babies. And she is a major toy stealer.

Joe and Mandy just finished construction earlier this year on their house which is on a plot of farmland that belongs to Mandy's family. This is the amazing view from their back porch.

Alyssa and Eli and pro golfers

These two got along so well. They would sit at this counter and start laughing hysterically at each other for no apparent reason.

The Camp family game of choice is nerts, a speed game. And they are pretty fast, I usually come in somewhere around the middle to end :)

Presley looks pretty comfy there!

On the way back to the Salt Lake airport we visited temple square. It was starting to get pretty cold and gray but it was still beautiful.

The kids really enjoyed the reflection pool.

One Down

My handsome husband and I packed up the kids and headed up to Utah a few weeks ago for my sister Erin's wedding (remember, she is the first of 3 siblings getting married in the next 5 months?? gahhh!).
We went up a few days before the wedding and rented a big house to be the hub. While there, we were able to meet my brother Matt's fiance Sarah, who is super sweet and already a part of the family! Beautiful Brynn was pretty patient for a 16 month old while we were in the temple and waiting for pictures.

Cory and Erin first coming out of the temple

Eli shaking Cory's hand, saying; "Congratulations Man!"

Kim (friends since 12 years old) & I

My cousin Garrett (came up from Colorado), bro. Matt, bro. Dan & I

GQ Brothers

Jake pretty much took complete control of the kids while I was busy busy busy with wedding stuff. He was superdad!

Very cold in this picture. But I'm from coastal Texas, I only own one coat (that I bought specifically for this trip) and it doesn't exactly go with a dress.

So nice to be with my family at the temple and the Bountiful, UT temple is gorgeous.

Jake & I

The cake, before Eli stuck his finger in the middle of the bottom layer (sorry Cory & Erin! I don't think you noticed though...I certainly didn't pipe up...)

Brynn was that one crazy kamikaze kid you usually see at a reception, but she sure was cute

The Grooms' cake...so wrong. (Erin went to BYU, Cory went to the U of U)

Caught with too many desserts!

My friend Melanie's daughter Adelaide loves little kids and gave Brynn lots of love. She's a strong girl to be able to pick Brynn up, she's probably more than half her weight!

It was so fun to have a little reunion with some old friends, I miss you all and wish we lived closer to one another.

We were also able to meet Jake's brother Josh's fiance Shannen (say that 3 times fast). I actually already knew her from when we I was her camp counselor years and years ago! She couldn't be a better fit for Josh and the family. Deep in conversation.."Well, it's been great Eli, but it's past my bedtime.."

Love is in the Air

We had 3 engagements in our families this year, the latest being last night! We're very happy for you all! The wedding kick off is in just 2 weeks, I can't wait!!

Cory and my sister Erin are getting married October 9th in Salt Lake City, UT
My brother Matt and Sarah are getting married December 19th in Denver, CO
And my brother in law Josh and Shannen are getting married February 13th in Salt Lake City, UT

Meet my newest nephew Van Schultz! He is the picture of perfection, I love how peaceful he looks here. It's about time we had another boy in the mix, Eli & Dane have been the only Camp grandsons for awhile, but we sure love Katie, Alyssa, Presley, Lexi, Lily and Brynn and wouldn't trade them for any boy! I love being an Aunt, I wish I lived closer to all my sweet nieces and nephews. Congratulations Bremen and Andrea!! Can't wait to meet Van.

Taking patience to a whole new level..

After contemplating it for many months, reading an insightful book, talking to many friends and family about it, I deemed last Friday the day to begin it...it being POTTY TRAINING ELI! duh duh duhhhh.

My friend Taryn found success with a book called 'Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day.' So I decided to give it a try. Hey, best case scenario, it works. Worst case, I'll just potty train day by day. I borrowed her potty training doll (apparently the economy is hitting potty training dolls pretty hard, the cheapest was $50) and got everything ready the night before. I did it on a day I knew Jake would be home because one of us had to constantly be by Eli's side for this method. So we started the day off with a wrapped present for Eli on the toilet...
Meet 'Dave,' the present! We acted so excited about Dave that Eli fell in love immediately and took Dave along with him wherever he went. They played together, ate together, read together. But Dave is a big boy and uses the potty, so we interrupted their play every 20 minutes or so to have Eli take Dave to the potty or for Dave to have an accident. The purpose is to have your child teach the doll how to use the potty; repetition, repetition, repetition.
Jake, Dave and Eli enjoying some tv time..

"Hey, I smell something stinky...Eli did you go poop? No? Hmm. Wait, you don't think Dave went poop in his big boy underwear, do you?!" Check out Eli, scrambling off the couch to get away from stinky Dave.

He was so disgusted! It was hilarious..

Now why can't he have that reaction when he poops in his own diaper?

Pretty realistic, huh? I used some baby food meat because I knew if I used chocolate Eli wouldn't buy it.

Of course Eli has to help clean Dave off

After a few hours Eli wanted to practice sitting on the potty every time Dave went, pretty good because he hated to sit on the potty anytime I tried before.

When we put everyone down for naps we decorated for a "potty party"

Treat tray. Every time Dave went potty or practiced he got a treat that Eli got to eat for him (since Dave lacks a digestive system..but apparently has a fine urinary tract) if he promised to use the potty someday. His favorite was the candy corn, he said they looked like temples (ooookay...)

Every party needs a cake! Eli is in love with trains so I borrowed a cake mold and made this cutie.

After naptime Eli got to open another present, this time big boy underwear for himself. We repeated the morning scenario, except now it was Eli's turn to use the potty and practice instead of Dave. We poured the liquid down him, he was in heaven having as many juice boxes and root beers (DIET of course) as he wanted, that way he would have to go often. After dinner we had the party, celebrating Eli being a big boy now. He got his cake, which he adamantly refused to eat, he only licked the frosting and admired it until it was so crusty I threw it out.

He got a present during the party, of course a track pack for his Thomas trains.

All in all, a pretty good experience. He didn't have any accidents the first day and went in the potty every time. However, he isn't completely potty trained. We've only had a handful of accidents since we started but he can hold it for a long time (5 hours!) and will wait until I put his pull up on for naptime to unload. I'm sure it will be a few months before he's going on his own all the time. That first night Jake said, "What was wrong with the diapers? Can't we go back?!" But we all know, there is no going back. Now I have a whole new reason to admire the many Mom's before me! I bow down to you, potty training takes patience like nothing else.