Cam's Graduation

Cameron graduated the week after we got back from vacation.  He graduated from Seminary, which is a program where high school students take a class each year to study from the scriptures, learn, and strengthen their knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ.  

^^ We are so proud of Cameron and grateful for the good example that he is to us! ^^

^^ Four of the six of us siblings.  We missed you Lindsey and Curtis! And sorry, boys, this is the best picture we got. :) ^^

^^ Then of course the high school graduation!  I can't believe that my youngest brother has graduated from high school! ^^

^^ The weekend after high school graduation Cameron also received his Eagle Scout.  ^^

^^ After the Eagle Scout ceremony we went to the Middleton Cemetery and visited the graves for Memorial Day. ^^

We are so proud of Cameron and excited for what the future holds for him!  We know that he will do great things!!!  One thing about being the oldest child is that I get a bird's eye view of my siblings growing up.  It has been fun to watch Cam grow and I am excited to continue to see where life takes him as well as the rest of my siblings.  Congratulations Cam!!! We love you!

Clogging Nationals

Clogging nationals this year was the rainiest yet!  The rain just kept coming down and didn't seem to ever let up.  Despite this my teams did great and got first place on all of their team dances!

^^ Cute little Pearls. ^^

^^ The Jades trying not to freeze as we waited to go on stage. ^^

^^ I thought that Shelby would hate clogging after sitting through Nationals!  He said though that it wasn't too bad and actually would have been enjoyable if it wasn't for the rain.  Good thing since he could possibly have lots of dance competitions and recitals to sit through with our future children! ^^

One Bachelor's degree down!

We finally have a Bachelor's degree in our house!!!  One down, on to go! :)  I completed my RN (Registered Nurse) to BSN (Bachelor's of Science in Nursing) the beginning of May.  This basically means that I get a raise at work and will have more doors and jobs opportunities open up that otherwise wouldn't be if I stayed an Associate Degree RN.  I am so grateful that I am a nurse.  Sometimes it is hard, sometimes the scheduling is not the greatest, but I know that this is what Heavenly Father wants me to do with my education.

I am grateful for Shelby and supporting me mentally and emotionally as I worked full time and did school full time for the last year and a half.  He looked at me the other night and said "It is so nice to have you back."  And I agree wholeheartedly!  I am definitely way more relaxed and able to completely focus on the people that I am around instead of having a million things on the to-do list in the back of my mind.  Our house is cleaner and staying clean and I finished a book that I have been trying to read for the last year and a half!  It's amazing what being done with school can do!  Thanks to everyone who has put up with me that last few years and supported me in my educational endeavors!  

Cruisin' Part 1

About three months ago we decided that a vacation was desperately needed.  Between both of us working and school things have been busy.  So, we decided that the week after clogging nationals would be a good week since school would be out and I would be done with my Bachelor's program.  At first we were planning on heading to southern Utah.  After looking at the cost of hotels, restaurants, gas, etc, we realized that we could go somewhere that we had never been before for not much more of the cost.  So, we booked our first cruise!  We went on the Carnival Imagination.  It was fun and super relaxing.  We recommend that everyone try a cruise at least once in their lives. :)

^^ Flying out of Salt Lake bright and early! ^^

^^ Hanging out in Long Beach waiting for our ship to leave. ^^

^^ View of Long Beach from the cruise ship. ^^

^^ We left on Mother's Day.  Since it was Mother's Day all of the women got an extra dessert at dinner as well as a flower. :) ^^

^^ Beautiful ocean sunset. ^^

^^ We love towel animals!  They were definitely a highlight of each day! ^^

^^ The first day we stopped at Catalina Island.  Since the water is pretty shallow the ship dropped its anchor further out and we rode little tender boats to the island. ^^

^^ The little bay area of the island. ^^

^^ Riding on the tender boat with our cruise ship in the background. ^^

^^ We decided not to do anything super "touristy" like ziplining or anything while we were on Catalina.  Instead we hiked around and explored the island.  It was a good decision since there was plenty to see and do just by walking around the Island. ^^

^^ That night was "elegant night" which we both wanted to boycott, but what the heck, we wanted to eat the good food in the dining room so we sucked it up and got dressed up.  As you can see, it was worth it for Shelby who got two Lobster tails for dinner! :) ^^

^^ More of Catalina ^^

^^ One morning the workers decorating all of the chairs on one of the main decks with towel animals-so fun! ^^

^^ The second day of our cruise we stopped in Ensenada Mexico.  We loved all of the colorful buildings! ^^

^^ These are some gold statues that we found.  My limited Spanish vocabulary did not help in figuring out who they were but they still looked cool. ^^

^^ Photo bomb! ^^

^^ We found some sea lion friends on a dock.  They just wanted to sleep...^^

^^ I am fascinated by different cultures.  I could just sit and watch people's lifestyles all day. ^^

^^ This is one of the shops that we saw in Mexico.  They have many beautiful colorful items. ^^

More pictures to come!