soaking up the sun

in the last remaining days of summer.

jace and katie

if you are interested in seeing any of their wedding pictures, you can hop on over to the "Dustyn's Photography" tab. I just added a few highlights. Some of them I uploaded a dumb way. I may or may not fix them. Happy viewing.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!

My cute niece was baptized on Saturday.
It was a neat experience and we were glad we were able to be a part of it.

For CamRee's birthday, Dustyn and I took her to the Manti Temple and had a photo shoot in her baptism dress. The pictures turned out so cute. Here are a few. There are quite a few more, but Dustyn has been super busy and hasn't got to them all.

We are so proud of you CamRee.

We love you.

Always a party!

On Monday, Dustyn and I took CamRee to Manti so we could take some photos of her at the Temple. She is getting baptized at the end of the month and we wanted to do a little photo shoot just for her (some of those coming soon). Her birthday is next Friday! She will be eight years old.

We took a few photos on the way.

We were practicing her serious face.

There were a lot of these faces

and a few of these.

We of course had to stop at Fat Jacks (Roy's Pizza) and get some dinner.

At this point we had scarfed down the cheese stix.

After we went to the Malt Shop and got shakes.

I was trying to take a cute picture of us together, but CamRee kept playing with me and doing her serious face. Silly girl.

Such a fun afternoon! We always have so much fun together. I am glad she likes to spend time with me.

Wanna know more about Me? (aka Lady-Queen-Kam)

So you think you want to know more about this scary girl:

Okay then... here we go!

Here are the reader submitted questions:

➪Lease favorite food(s): mushrooms, ham, milk, bananas.

➪Favorite book: Of course I am a huge fan of the Twilight series! (go Edward! Although Alice is my favorite character) I do love me a good LDS Romance every now and again. I have read a lot of Nicholas Sparks book, but get bored of them quickly. I really like Clair Poulson books and other mystery/crime type of books. I plan on picking up a Nora Roberts book in the near future. Everyone seems to always suggest her books. We'll see. If you have any great suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I recently learned that maybe it's better to get a suggestion before you go out and buy a random book. You never know what will be inside.

➪Favorite fictional character: This is a tough one! I did mention earlier that I do love Alice Cullen! (as well as Edward. Totally NOT a Jacob fan) But I seem to be obsessed with which ever character I have seen most recently in a movie. I am weird like that. Somehow I find a way to relate to whatever movie I am watching. This is a really good question that I would love to revisit at a later date.

➪What do you do if you have free time? Honestly? I Plurk. I totally can not get enough of my Plurk friends. Especially Aubrey and Marci. I love them to pieces! They are always there to listen to me vent, make me smile, laugh (and I do mean LAUGH) and always there for a good cry. Seriously they are the best.
If I am not plurking, you can find me watching movies, playing the Wii, playing on my iPod, or just chillin' with Dustyn. We also LOVE going for rides and absolutely can not get enough time camping. I love free time!

➪Who is your "superhero" in life? I would have to say birth mothers/birth parents. I am in complete awe of them. They make one of the most difficult decisions to help someone else's dreams come true. What a selfless decision. What a life changing choice. One that I will forever be grateful for. They are most definitely my heros! I can't wait to meet a birth mother that will make the decision that makes us parents here on earth! It's hard to describe the love and respect I have for birth parents.

➪If you could tell the world just one thing, what would it be? (is anyone else singing Jewel at this point? I can't stop!) It's all okay. Kidding! I would tell the world that, "Adoption is an Option!" A lot of teenagers and unwed mothers don't realize that adoption is an option for whatever reason. Maybe they are afraid of what their friends and family would say or maybe they are afraid of the pain and hurt that comes with adoption. Whatever reason, it seems like so many are fearful of adoption. I would love to educate the world about adoption. That is how you get over your fears, right? Education? It seems like this is the case especially in small communities. Maybe. Maybe not.

➪If there was no chance in failing, would you do something different?
Oh would I! I would do so many things different. Why are we so scared of failure? I am terrified of it. It's okay to fall on your face sometimes. It is! It only makes you that much better and that much more prepared the next time around! If only it were that easy. Let's see... here are a few things that I would do differently. I would have gone to an big out of state school. I would have gone into architect or advertising or design. I would be creative! I would create. Maybe try my hand at painting, drawing, sculpting. I would go get my teaching degree in mathematics. I would run! I would get a real job! I would blog about my feelings more often. I would write a blog post good enough to post on AubreyMo.com . Oh the things I would do! So... what's stopping me?

➪What was an important lesson you learned growing up? I think for sure, it was to WORK HARD! No matter what you are doing, work hard. Go the extra mile and do what it takes to get things done. You aren't going anywhere if you don't work hard.

➪What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? All I can think is embarrassing moment, which I won't share here. I'm still embarrassed. But if anyone else can think of something, go ahead... share. I will keep thinking, but I can't come up with anything at this point in time.

➪Do you have any brothers or sisters? In fact, I do! I have a younger sister JaKell (28) who is married to Brandon. She has three kids (CamRee, Tryen, and HadiLee) and two step kids (Gillian and Brynnley). Then I have a younger brother Jace (26) who is married to Tina. They have three dogs (Aspen, Tyke, and Mojo). Then last but not least is Chet (18). He is single and starting a new job! (oh and a dog named Diamond! And a family dog named Camo)

➪What is your middle name? Lee

➪Name five favorite things about your hubby:
Only five? ;)
1-He is creative! I love what he can do with a paintbrush or with a computer. He is definitely talented. I could look at his paintings and artwork for hours. He listens to my suggestions and doesn't get upset when I critique his art (even though I know nothing about art). I LOVE talking art with him.
2-His desire for children. I always wanted a large family. With the infertility issues and adoption challenges we have faced, I have decided that I want two kids at the most. He still has hopes and dreams of a large family. A little heart ache can't get him down. As far as a large family, we'll see. I'm still set on two.
3-He always shows his respect for me. He always opens my door, always walks on the outside, always lets me go first, always makes me feel special. He is always there to do little favors and errands for me. Most of the time I know he doesn't want to, but he does it anyways without complaining. I don't have to question if he loves me.
4-He gets so exited over little things. Anything to do with Apple/Macs, movie previews, electronics, TV's, just anything. He comes home and tells me all about what he read about that day. Sometimes I have no idea what he's talking about, but it's fun to see him so excited.
5-He loves the Lord. He honors his Priesthood. He is always ready to serve others and do the best that he can. He tries hard to be the best he can at his calling, he always has great comments to make, he can be counted on when given an assignment, he has a testimony and is not afraid to share it, he helps me be a better person. We aren't perfect by any means, not even close. With Dustyn's help, we are continually trying to better our lives and the loves of those around us.

➪If I lived closer, would you eat Fat Sticks with me? PS we should eat them anyway. Uhm... heck yah! Let's go! Aubs, I am glad we share an obsession with Fat Sticks. We should totally have Fat Sticks soon! P.S. You should meet my friend Carrie. We should all have Fat Sticks!

➪Am I your favorite? (Wait. Don't answer that). Srsly. Do you even have to ask?

➪Umm... weren't we going to swap blog posts?!?! We totally need to get on that!

➪What is your favorite place to eat? Okay, what place isn't my favorite, really. Let's see... there's Texas Roadhouse, Fat Jack's, Cafe Rio, Jason's Deli, anything Thai, Steve's Steakhouse, Zupas, Spaghetti Factory, Cheesecake Factory, Melting Pot, Chili's, and many, many more.

➪What is your favorite Wii game and what is your highest score? Well it would for sure be Dr. Mario! I LOVE that game. I don't know what my highest score is, but I don't really know of anyone who can beat me. My dad can occasionally.

➪Why did you name your daughter Hannah? Do you have names for your future children? It was kind of a joke when I was in college and in my 20's. I would always say, "Oh my Hannah!". I always joked that I would name my daughter that. When Dustyn and I got married we talked about both liking the name Hannah. I didn't think we would ever actually use it. When Hannah was born, we didn't really know how old the baby had to be in order to give her a name and a blessing. Just in case, we came up with a name quickly and that is what we came up with. (We later learned that she was not old enough)
We do have names for our future children. We have a boy name and a girls name. I hope we get to use both. I would share them, but I don't want to just yet. ;)

➪Who is your favorite friend in Stansbury Park? Stansbury Park? Where's that? Ha ha! Kidding! It would definitely have to be Anika! ;) Oh yeah and for sure her mom!

➪If you could live anywhere in Utah, where would you live? Yes, Arianne, I wish I could live closer to you, but I really, really love Sevier valley. I don't think I could ever leave. It's my most favorite place in Utah. Maybe you should retire here. ;)

➪How big was the biggest deer you ever shot? If it wasn't 2AM, I'd go find a picture to scan in! It was when I was 16, my first deer. A 3 X 4. We shot it and were back in town before 7AM on opening morning. Nice.

➪When are you going to come see me? Soon! When are you going to come see me? ;)

➪What is your favorite store to shop at? I love, love, love Target most of all. Can't get enough. I love me some IKEA. I love American Eagle for Jeans, Maurices for shirts, and Keen shoes (where ever you can find them). If I were skinnier I'd shop at Gap, Banana Republic, etc. (oh, okay... and richer)

➪What is your favorite treat? I love Ice Cream (it can't be thick or creamy. Ew) or popsicles. Mostly anything cold.

➪What is your favorite hobby when you have free time? I know I mentioned some before, but I wanna add photography in there. I love taking pictures and learning photoshop. I also love going to the school with Dustyn. I need to learn some more hobbies. I would love how to do more handcrafts.

➪What is on your birthday wishlist? Hmm... I don't know just yet. I will post about it when I have thought more about it. It's a very important list, you know. :D

I think that is all on this edition of "Getting to know Lady Queen Kam!"
Until next time, have a great Thursday!

Thoughts

So, my camera . . . just doesn't take the pictures that it use to.  Is that even fair?  I mean it is only about 1.5 years old or so.  I really can't remember, but between one and two years old.  Why do cameras have to get crappy.  It still does just fine for me when I just wanna a point and shoot.  And when I want a nice picture, we always have the rebel.  So really, it's no big deal, just annoying.  It still does pretty well in the right light.  But isn't that with most point and shoots?  Light is everything.

I made about 15+ dozen of cookies yesterday.  I decided that cookies were easier and faster than candy.  I still have quite a few to bake today, so really I haven't made them all.  Hopefully I will get them done today.

I really need to get on my Christmas Cards!  This is the latest I think I have ever waited.  I am slacking!  I should at least be gathering addresses! In time.

I need to post a few more of Cyd's pictures so you can see what a great job Dustyn does.  He really is a great photographer.  We laugh though because you can tell he is an artist at heart and paints.  He tries to make the photos look more like a painting.  He tries to do a little of everything when he is editing.  Some realistic ones and some that he plays around with.  It's fun to watch what he comes up with.

We watched the funniest, weirdest movie the other day.  if you are in a really, really silly mood and anything would amuse you, you should rent "Stalking Santa".   It is pretty funny, but you have to be in the right mood.  It is a mockumentary.  Fun-nay.

I think we have rented 10 Christmas movies in the past two weeks.  (There are 6 at our house at the moment).  We watched Fred Claus and thought it was pretty funny and entertaining.  Not really what I was expecting.  And I can not stand Paul Giamatti as Santa Claus.  Maybe I am weird, but he just doesn't fit the description for me.  :)

I am totally over private.  I really hate it.  I mean I try not to put too much info anyways, so it shouldn't be a big deal.  And what I was worried about has passed.  I am so ready to go back to normal.  Good thing you didn't move your bookmarks, huh?  Ha ha!  We'll see.  

Coming up next:  Thanksgiving pictures!!  And who knows what else.

A sneak peek for Cyd.

This has been promised for months.  I know.  But here are a few pictures from Cyd's Senior Photo Shoot.

These are just a few.  Many, many more favorites coming soon!
(blasted blogger - always kills the colors.  They are much better in real life Cyd)

Ryial's Photo Shoot

We had to post the highlights from Ryial's Photo Shoot.  

But seriously.  If you live in the Northern Utah area and you need an electrician, Ryial does an amazing job!  Give him a call!

Matt and Amy Photo Shoot

Just a few more. ;) There were SO many cute ones. Here are just a few.

Photo Shoot

Over the weekend Dustyn and I tried to take photos for Matt and Amy. We had a lot of fun and got a lot of really good shots, but this was the first time we have taken pictures of a family with a toddler. It was a fun experience, but a learning one too!

But isn't she just the cutest thing ever?