What's so great about quadrouple 7's?

....it is the day my mom turned 30, and had me.

I really don't remember ever wishing I didn't share my birthday with my mom. For me, it was something I had that no other sibling did. I was special.

I planned to carry the 30 year number out with another generation. But, Luke came a little earlier than planned, and having another right away, just wasn't an option. Maybe I'm selfish, I just want the day to just be mine and my mom's, and I feel ok about that.

"Thank you" mom for having surgery on your birthday, not to mention recovering from it. "Thank you" for baking me a boston creme pie cake every year, even though your favorite was German Chocolate. "Thank you" for throwing me birthday parties that didn't include any of your friends. "Thank you" for making my favorite breakfast, German Pancakes and letting me eat off of the "it is your special day" plate, even though it was yours too. "Thank you" for giving me gifts, even when you should have been receiving. "Thank you" for teaching me, spending time with me, worrying about me, sacrificing for me, and loving me. You have  helped shape my first 30 years, and made the "number" not so hard to accept.

Mom, I hope we have another 30 years together, and on 07.07.37, I can be closer to becoming more like you.

I love you, and Happy Birthday!

In order to appreciate New York City...

you need to get out for a while.

Every year "the moms", and anyone who is lucky enough to get a few days off during the week, take their kids up camping. When I say camping, you need to understand that I don't mean hiking and mess kits, I mean, nice grassy lawns, canoing, swimming, bathrooms, & fridgerators... Camp Liahona. To clarify however, there are fires and tents involved, but this camp site is manageable enough for moms and kids of all ages. This year, the dates fell on and around the 4th of July which meant Dads could come up too. Tom came up Tuesday night and stayed with Luke and I through Wednesday afternoon.

I was the primary photographer so most of my shots of are Luke.

:Rugged and ready:

:Getting ready for his first canoe ride:

:He didn't do much swimming, I forgot his water wings:

:Riding with Ruby:

:Gets the kids every time:

:As I have mentioned before, Luke likes to play with the big kids. He now asks for Duck Duck Goose at least 5x's a day:

:Tom arrived, giving me a little break. We headed back down the beach to test out Luke's new sand pail:

: Sadly, the rest of the camp missed the grey and camo uniform memo:

:sshhh....."baby talk":

:Tom needed to get some canoe time in, unfortunately Luke didn't enjoy it until he got to help paddle:

:Cause we didn't feel like we ate enough junk food, we stopped for milk shakes:

After all the fun we had, we were too tired to venture out anywhere for fireworks. Our upstairs neighbor had a semi formal get together on top of the roof, so we snuck up for a view. Although the picture does not capture whatsoever the view, you get the idea. New York puts on at least three visible shows up and down the island. When you are actually close to the fireworks, they seem to take up half the sky, from here they looked like sparklers. But, if you look closely I was just able to squeeze 2 of them into the frame.

On second thought, it kinda looks like we are watching New York under attack.

Happy 4th!!

& see you in a few days!! I'm going camping!

Why does everyone have to leave New York?

Including us.

At some point everyone except maybe a handful leave the city. Every time someone leaves it is like saying "goodbye" to a family member. Since we have been living here, our friends have become our second family. We spend weekends, Sunday dinners, and holidays together, usually making up for the fact we are far far away.

This weekend we packed up and said goodbye to Kami and Erik Rich (left corner of the table). They have been here for just about as long as us, 5 years, and are heading to Arizona. Gatherings just won't be the same without Kami's infectious laugh, Erik's off colored jokes (they really aren't bad, just funny), Kami's first hand celebrity gossip, makeup tips (from them both), late night mofia games, and just great company.

Too soon, we will also pack up the Romney's. That will be sad, really sad. I have been living within a 2 mile radius of Chris Romney for the past 10 years. With a small 1 year gap. Somehow I think we will end up by them at some point. I didn't really imagine that when I left Provo 6 years ago, I would end up living around the corner from them, literally. They have been such great friends to us. Even letting us live with them on and off while we evicted our tenant out of our apartment. We will forever be indebted to them for their air mattress and shower.

I guess we will have our turn to say goodbye too. It will be the hardest on us. I think I am in denial though, I just keep making more plans that extend past our initial "move date". I don't think it will really be official until we don't have a place to live anymore.