Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Never Leave Guests Unattended...

Mark and I headed out to a baptism Saturday morning, leaving our friends unattended in the house. We came home to find some interesting, albeit disturbing, evidence of the morning's proceeding left on our camera.

I won't even comment on these two...I shiver just looking at them.



Cute little children running on our bed and an uninvited fashion analyst.



Invasion of our deepest thoughts and feelings. Kevin, you better be eating off the spoon that says 'Welcome to Bear Lake Outhouse'



My ice cream food storage significantly depleted. No Taylor, that is not ice cream.



Lots of envious drooling over my lovely lamp...



...and our car.



Somehow, the wives were even convinced to go along with the delinquency.



I don't think our house will ever be the same.


On a happier note, these kiddos were all together for the first time in their short lives. Aren't they adorable?


Thanks for coming, friends...next time leave my ice cream alone (and my purse...and my bathroom...and my....)







Monday, January 31, 2011

Welcome back to the blogging world

Not that anyone is dying to know where the heck the McKenna's have disappeared to, but just in case, I'll fill ya in with a breathtaking post about our adventures.

Mark started his Masters in Instructional Technology last fall at USU. If Cam was obsessed with Dad before that, it is even more pronounced now since he doesn't get to see him very often between work and school. It was nice to have Mark a little more over the holiday break, but now it's back to the grindstone for him. He loves it!


He's also involved with a non-profit organization called 'Little Bloomsbury' and has been helping to organize a couple of up-coming events. Check out the NL Library this Saturday and participate in the Chinese New Year celebration. *nudge nudge*

That's 1/3 of the McKenna clan. My third is slightly less exciting, but definitely fulfilling (okay, a lot less exciting)! I told Mark I need to find something to look forward to so that I can actually keep track of what day of the month it is. Winter feels a lot longer when you stay at home, doesn't it? Cam and I have been learning a lot together. My goal is just to keep up with him and not let him take over the house. I swear he's an evil (cute) genius. His vocab has really started to take off the last couple of weeks. Before, he would not imitate anything I said, and now I find that I'm going to have to be really careful about what I say.

I've decided to start teaching piano lessons. I'm still in the beginning stages of planning, but hopefully soon I'll be up and running.



The last 1/3 of our family really is the heart of our home. Cam's passion is the computer. I have to take the chair away from the computer desk, otherwise, he will spend all day there changing all our file names, deleting important documents, and rearranging our iTunes.

He's starting to develop some pretend play, but so far I'm doing most of the 'car vrooming' and crawling through blanket forts


Gloop! He's so funny because he does not like this stuff staying on his hands. He's a lot like his dad that way.


Painting a masterpiece. My dream is to have an artist child to carry on my Grandma's legacy. I think he can already paint better than me by this point.


I guess this picture belongs more with my third of the post since I'm the appointed household barber. This is his first haircut and has had another since this picture. I was worried about keeping him entertained since Mark wasn't home, but he did surprisingly well.


The fireplace comes in second behind computer on the obsession list. Cam runs up to the fireplace at least once a day and declares "Hot" while holding his hand out (pretending to feel it with his hand). In fact, he's doing that very thing to this picture as I'm typing.

Well, between the lines of this post, we've had some awesome holiday's, a little ice skating-which I'm so sad that the ice rink at Merlin Olsen park melted so fast-, some parental learning moments, and a whole bunch of life mixed on in.


Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Boo!

Don't look now, but there's a giant grasshopper sneakin' up on ya.



Yes, I fail in this picture. Oh well, Cam looks cute and the scene behind us was superb. Way to go Uncle Russel and Aunt Julie!


King Cameron of the Wild Things. You should see my house, it proves this is his real identity.


What do you do with a pumpkin? Dig in it? Carve it?


Nah, EAT IT!


What does a dragon say? ROOOAAARR! (apparently every animal makes that very sound??)


Call me Tim, Tim the Toolman...


Now Al, what would your mother say?
(Did anyone get our costumes? Nope. Do you? Maybe not, but we had fun!)


Cameron's spoils aka Mom and Dad's junk supply.

Oh, the Mischief









Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Big No. 1




Cam had his first birthday in August. Since Mark was gone for the actual day, we had a party when he got back in the family. We haven't had that many people in our home at one time and we had a blast. Mark's parents and siblings came up from Farmington/Centerville and we loved having everybody!

It was so fun reflecting back a year and thinking about Cameron coming into our lives. It crazy to realize that at one point Cameron wasn't here. It seems like he's always been here laughing and being a nut. I can't believe how much he's grown and what he's learned over the course of the year!


The cake

Cam was an old pro at opening presents by this time.



Blowing out the candle (with help from Cousin Jackson).

Eating a cupcake-not such a fan.
I'm sure Cousin Russell thought it was almost sacrilegious
to waste a cupcake like that.

Someone finally had mercy and thought to give him goldfish.

Love this boy!


Fun on the Emerald Island

Mark headed out to Kodiak, Alaska to catch "the one" in the middle of August. Fish that is, since he's already found me. I guess there's something about being out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of guys, bears, and fish that man just can't resist. All the men in the family headed out and the women decided to stay behind and "party". Or something like unto. Cameron and I missed Mark a ton while he was away for a week and a half, but we loved playing together and learning new things. There was no cell phone coverage where they flew to, so it was a new experience not having Mark to talk to for over a week.

Cameron had his first birthday while Mark was gone with little fanfare. A good birthday to miss since Cam doesn't know the difference!

Now that Mark's back, we're enjoying the fruits of his labors. Well, I guess it would more accurately be termed the fish of his labors. Here's some pictures from the trip and if Mark feels the urge, he can post some stories!

A new friend in Kodiak. Thanks for not bringing
him home-you're already hard enough to feed.

The guys were stuck in Kodiak since it was too stormy and
foggy to head out on the float plane to their peninsula.

Mark making the most of their unexpected sight-seeing day.



View from plane. This takes my breath away-the view
and the fog they're flying in. Glad I didn't know about
this until they came back.

Mark, Dana (bro-in-law), Dad, Denny (bro), Todd (bro)

Hiking to the fish.

A river runs through it. Whatever "it" is...


A Mama bear with her triplets. What a thrill to see that in the wild!


Looking down on cabin and ocean. What a view!





Flying out! Alan (bro-in-law), Mark, Dad, Todd

I just thought these pictures looked like a scene
out of Jurassic Park. Look close and you can see
the waterfalls on the mountain! Gorgeous!






Summary: Mark and the guys had a blast, the girls went to Willow Park to see their own fish, and we're all glad they made it back safe and sound (the guys and the girls-hard to say what's more ferocious: bears or tired children).