What's In A Name?

 We're on the search for a baby name.  And we are getting nowhere reeeeal fast.

So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to record the stories of how we choose our first three kids' names.

(Since our last one won't have a name, I might as well do it now.)

"Brooklyn" was definitely not one of the names I scribbled on my notepad during the less-than-interesting Young Women's lessons.  In fact, none of my kids names were.  They were all mostly last-minute decisions.

 (If I had birthed a child between 1992 and 2004 they would have been named Dustin or McKenzie.  Ick.)  

I always loved the name Brooke and since my mom and Luke's dad's names are Lyn, we stuck the two together and... whoala.

Brooklyn it was.

 The name Brooklyn comes from the city in New York which is abstractly fitting for her.

She's unique and wild and untamed.

Parts of her are classic and elegant.

And parts of her are bold and gritty.

 She's definitely our Brooklyn.

Aubrey was almost not Aubrey at all.

She was going to be Brielle or Bailey or Katelyn.

We had thrown "Aubrey" around a little bit, but it never really stuck for me.

Then on the way to the hospital on a snowy and slick morning between a few nasty contractions, I looked at Luke and told him her name was Aubrey.  And that was that.

 "Aubrey" literally means "ruler of the Elfish people."

I am not making this up.

Ruler. of. the. Elves.

At first I was appalled by this, but again, it kind of fits.

She is a ruler.  And elves or humans or bunnies or aliens or first-grade boys, she is loved by her people.  

Her name also means "noble" and "bright."

If I had only 2 words to describe her, those might be my picks.

Noble.

And so exceptionally bright.

 

"Cameron" means "crooked nose."

Yep.

Crooked. Freakin. Nose.

 This one, fortunately, is not as fitting as the others.  

His nose is pretty straight and pretty darn cute actually.

 In Chinese, the symbols used to make up "Cameron" are the symbols for "esteemed, bright, and manly."

So we're gonna go with that.

Cameron was not decided on until the nurses at the hospital told us we couldn't leave unless we decided on something.

We turned on the TV and agreed that the first boy name that we saw or heard would be his name.

And then the first name was Adam.

So we cut our losses and named him Cameron.

And that is what's in a name.

The Simple Beauty

 "Go outside...

amidst the simple beauty of nature...

and know that as long as

places like this exist, 

there will be comfort for every sorrow, 

whatever the circumstances may be."

-Anne Frank

 

Land That I Love

 This year was only the third time in my life that I can remember not being in Utah or Idaho for the 4th of July.  I love the small-town celebrations with the parades and the festivals and the snow cones and the swimming and the BBQ's and the sparklers and the fireworks.

But this year was awesome too.
  It started with a ward pancake breakfast and bike ride, a YM football game where Cameron got to be the official quarterback sacker by blasting people with his shield (my pot lid), swimming with friends, a BBQ, and fireworks show.

I am thankful every single day that I get to raise these kids in the greatest nation in the world.

Our home sweet home.

Down the Rabbit Hole

50 days ago, I promised Brooklyn that if she could stop sucking her thumb for 50 days straight, I would buy her a bunny.

50 days later, WE ARE SUCK FREE, PEOPLE!!!

And we have 2 little bunnies to prove it.

(We got one for Aubrey too because she is an angel child.  If all my kids could be as easy as Aubrey, I'd be cranking kids out like....  well, like a bunny.)

Brooklyn's bunny is named Ginger.  

She's soft and a little spazzy and slightly anti-social, but also completely loveable.  

She likes chewing on clothes and spilling her water.

Aubrey's bunny is named Chocolate.

He is cuddly and mellow and cute to a fault.  He likes to plop himself directly on top of Ginger whenever the situation presents itself.  I frequently get sudden urges to just squish his little face.  (And so does Cameron, except I resist mine.  Cameron does not.) 

So far, they have been pretty awesome pets.  Chocolate never leaves Aubrey's lap.  Ever.  Ginger hates Cameron.  So much.  I'm not allergic.  Which is awesome.  They don't shed.  Double awesome.  And they are male/female, so we may be getting some little Chocolate Ginger Snaps someday.  Darn.

It's been a pretty smooth trip down the Rabbit Hole so far.

Although our Google Searches might suggest otherwise.  They include, but are not limited to:

-"What do you do if your bunny eats an aluminum roasting pan?" (Pray.)

-"Is 105 degrees too hot for a bunny to be outside in?"  (Yes. Yes it is.)

-"How do I check to see if the bunny ate a popped balloon?" (You don't want to know.)

-"When can baby bunnies start reproducing?" (Soon.)

-"Bunnies can have how many babies?!?!" (WHHHHHHHHY?!)

-"Do rabbits eat drywall?" (...Cause ours does.)

-"Can a rabbit chew all the way through a computer cord?" (Sure can.)

 

The most memorable rabbit moment so far was the first night the bunnies were here.  I woke up around 3am to the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.  (Of course I was home alone that night.  OF. FREAKING. COURSE.)  After listening for several minutes and convincing myself I had imagined it, I went back to bed.  Then I woke up at 4am and feeling restless I got out of bed to check on the kids.  Cameron was sleeping soundly.  Aubrey was sleeping soundly.  Brooklyn was not sleeping soundly.  In fact, Brooklyn was watching Taylor Swift YouTube videos in the office with both bunnies hopping around on the office desk.  She had gone outside by herself + braved the black widows in the backyard + rescued both bunnies + left the side door open + helped herself to some jello in the process.

Cool story, huh?

Welcome to the family Ginger and Chocolate.

You are delicious.

Pirate's Dinner Adventure

 Ahoy me hearties!

Alas me buccaneers and me ended our vacation with a scurvy trip to Pirate's Dinner Adventure where we were entertained with swashbuckling tales of pirates and gypsies and bonnie wee lads in a blimey fight to the death.

 Here's how it went down in modern talk since just writing that one sentence took me 8 minutes and 4 google searches.

 We finally bucked up and dragged the family to Pirate's Dinner Adventure and we loved every single second of it.  It started with a little pre-show where we were assigned to the red team.  Our crew was the rowdiest group of people and our pirate captain was Satan's spawn.  The show was so fun and I even tricked the girls into getting on the ship for a part of the show.

The little scallywags had the greatest time and Cameron's been talking about it ever since.

Arrrrrrr.

Take Me to the Ocean

 Our last day in San Diego we stuck around for a relaxing morning of waffles in bed, hotel swimming, and morning cartoons, and then decided to head down to the Oceanside Pier. 

We took our time on a relaxing walk down the pier and ended at Ruby's where I introduced the kids to a PB shake.  (Yes, I know a Peanut Butter shake does not sound good.  But holy goodness.  It's divine.)  Plus, we counted it as lunch.  Double score.

 And then I slammed my hand in a porta-potty and Cameron slid his hand along the pier railing resulting in about 35 splinters.

 And it was still a delightful morning.