The Things He Says

We are constantly amazed by the words that come out of Cameron's mouth. Some are sweet, others hilarious, and others, well, we just don't know what to think, lol.

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. the lines were VERY long, and it was late. We finally made it in to the Celestial Room, which was quite beautiful. As we were leaving, Cameron turned and said, "I want to be in that room." We had been through MANY rooms, but it was that room he loved most. Even so young, he feels the Spirit.

Tonight, at dinner, Cameron said the prayer:

"Thank thee for all my books that I can read, Thank thee for my games that I can play, bless the food, In the name . . .What's my line?"

Cameron repeats game quotes frequently. Right now, he is big into Strong Bad. His favorite quote - "Oh, crapsicles!" Other phrases include, "I hope it's not. . .dangeresque." On the phone: "Hello, Commissioner? What? No, I'm not in that business anymore. Stupid telemarketers." This last phrase he says while wearing his Dangeresque sunglasses and talking into a cell phone - he's very authentic:-) I'm not going to repeat the whole thing here, but he knows the "200 Sbemails" song by heart. And the Trogdor song. And all the other songs on that site.

Independence Day Celebrations

We had so much fun this Independence Day! The morning started out with the Layton Independence Day parade. We were exited because the parade was passing about 50 yards from our house! That was good, because traffic and parking looked pretty bad. I could see some people eye-ing our driveway, lol.

At first, we were disappointed with the parade. I had been watching for days as people were coming to save the best spots. So we were a little surprised and annoyed when the parade seemed to end only 15 minutes after it had started. Nothing really exciting had even come by yet, except for some cool old cars. We went back to the house, but after a few minutes I heard a band playing. I looked outside and it looked like the parade had resumed. Craig and Cameron decided they didn't want to go back, so I decided to take Orion. I'm glad we went because we got to see some really cool stuff. Orion's favorite were the Humane Society walking some dogs:-) He wasn't too sure about the horses though.

In the evening we got to watch the big fireworks show - from our backyard:-) They do the show from Layton High School, which is practically next door to us. The only thing obstructing our view was the house right behind ours, but we were so close to the action that it really didn't matter.

Craig and I both agreed that it is going to take a lot for us to every leave the house on the 4th. We are thinking of having a BBQ next year and inviting friends and family over.

You are probably all wondering how our puppy handled the fireworks, with them being so close. Shortly before nightfall I took Orion out for a nice long walk, just to get out any extra energy. When we got back, we lit our own little fireworks, and Orion snoozed peaceably in my lap. There was a band in the park that was lighting cannons, which were quite loud, but they hardly fazed the dog. When the big fireworks started he started getting excited and barked at them, so we put him in the house. We did not know that Cameron had left the font door wide open (we were in the back), and Orion had plenty of opportunity to run off. Instead, he just ran right around to where we were. He's such a good dog! We found the cat hiding under our bed, lol.

I took LOTS of pictures, and the only way I could think of to share them with you is in a slideshow. So, enjoy!

Orion & Lily

I just had to post a little video of our dog and duck together:-) Although they seem to get along well, I still have to keep an eye on them. Orion likes to try and pick her up in his mouth, like a mommy dog would pick up her puppies. Lily does not like that so much. But it IS cute to watch her follow him wherever he goes. With Orion as her protector, I am sure she will do just fine:-)

And now Feathers!

As if our home wasn't already a menagerie, lol

I was out walking Orion a couple nights ago, and we found a little orphaned duckling running around in the street. Of course I could not just leave her there! I brought her home, and have been taking care of her since. We name her Lily (and yes, she is a girl!).

This is not my first experience raising a duckling. Some of you may remember my beloved little duck, Mira (MY-RA), who was my little miracle, sent from my Heavenly Father to save my life. Long story.

Anyway, the big difference with raising this duckling is that now I have a cat, a dog, and a little boy. Cameron just wants to hold the duckling all the time, but the cat and dog would rather just have her as a snack.

I spent the better part of yesterday with Orion and Lily together in the same room. My goal is to completely suppress Orion's natural instinct to attack the duckling. It has actually been going quite well. They were to the point yesterday where they were napping together side-by-side. At one point Lily even hopped up Orion's nose! But I have to keep at it every day, so that Orion always knows that he is NOT allowed to go into predator mode.

The cat is a little harder to work with, but we have been making progress with him, too.

Okay, I know you are all just dying to see some pics of her!