Hutton's Hang-out

Odds and Ends

2011-12-11T10:04:00.001-07:00

I borrowed Scott's bike rack in April. Cami and I used it in our trip down to St. George. For months the bike rack was used in our front room to help create a barrier between our Cedar chest and our box of shoes. It was a momentous occasion when I finally returned the bike rack to it's rightful owner and took this picture. I sent this picture to literally thousands...if not hundreds of people to celebrate the return of the bike rack. I apologize if you were not one of the "hundreds" that received this picture which represents the completion of the lender-borrower contract.

Bryce, Monte, and I were able to go fishing a few times this fall. I'm hoping to find a few weeks this winter to go freeze out on the Provo River with Bryce. I finally caught my first fish. I didn't have my phone with me at the time so I couldn't take a picture, but what's the fun in a fish story if there is a picture... The picture below is of Bryce holding a 14" rainbow trout that he caught about 1/2 hour after I caught a 12" brown trout. We took this picture because #1 I had my phone with me, and #2 we don't see too many rainbow in the Provo; mostly brown. It was good to catch my first fish using a fly rod and reel.

A few days after I caught my fish I was able to go to the Radio from Hell show with my cousin, Aaron. The X96 program wanted to hear of my fishing expedition. Okay, not really... I went up with Aaron because he is a BFOP (Best Friend Of the Program). It was cool to see how they interact during their show and how everything works. Thanks for the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Aaron.

Last Saturday Bryce and Kristy Russell invited us to a dinner to help Camp Kesem raise funds for their summer-time activities. This event was held at the Wilkinson Center on BYU campus. After we ate, and enjoyed the silent auction we went downstairs to the BYU bowling alley. Bowling hasn't been the same since my mission. I just can't get the spin figured out anymore. I spin the ball way too much and ends up in the left-side gutter most of the night. Here are our scores for one of our games. After a few frames I stopped trying to get strikes, but tried only to get 5s and 7s. It makes for a much more interesting night.

Adobe Christmas Party

2011-12-11T10:01:00.001-07:00

Cami and I celebrated being single last Friday at the Orem Adobe Christmas Party. Mr. T, Doc Brown, Marty McFly, Flashback Heart Attack, and probably break dancers from the 80s showed up in and celebrated Adobe style at our company Christmas party. Doc Brown and Marty McFly weren't really there the help celebrate, but you can imagine if they were...Mr. T loved my double-collar look. I'd like to thank Cami for going to DI and getting some sweet pants, a sick belt, and two collared shirts that made me look so awesome.

Someone did bring the Dolerean time machine.Good thing I was only just a child 80s because I wouldn't have fit in them. Cars in the 80s didn't fit tall freaks like me.

Cami was telling me when she was getting ready for our big party she wishes she could dress like this everyday. What you can't see in this great picture is her leg warmers and stirrup pants. Typically when Cami and I are just lounging around at home and we know we're not going anyway we pull out the stirrup pants and leg warmers... and the snuggie.

I typically stick to wearing one polo. Sometimes when I feel like I didn't get a hard enough workout at the gym I wear two shirts like this at home to sweat more, or when I'm going to an 80s-themed Adobe Christmas party.

Thanks Adobe for the good times at the Orem office Christmas Party.

Strawberry Vomit

2011-11-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

Last month Cami talked me into visiting the dentist. I have to admit it had been a while since the last visit so I have some interesting things to note before, during, and after my visits (yes visits) to the dentist.

After my initial visit they scheduled two additional visits. During the exam they found three small cavities, and did a gum test. The dentist office is in the same parking lot as Dickey's BBQ so as I left the dentist office I saw a red truck parked on the drive-thru with the front end in the building. I've heard from others that Dickie's is good, and others say Dickie's is terrible. This person appeared they wanted their food bad.

The red truck in the background didn't want to wait in line at the drive-thru.

A day after the accident.

Strawberry Vomit

After my visit of fixing cavities, numbing half my face on two consecutive days, polishing my teeth with tasty strawberry-flavored the dental assistant prescribed me some medicine to help clean my gums and bacteria from the work they did in my mouth.

One would think if the dentist can have strawberry and bubble-gum-flavored junk in their office to help with the health of one's teeth they could prescribe mouthwash medicine outside their office that tasted better than vomit.

I promise to take care of my teeth better now so I don't have to have the nasty strawberry vomit mouthwash prescribed again.

Letter to Scott

2011-10-17T15:19:00.000-06:00

Scott,

This is your cousin, Paul. I wish I was as good as John in writing letters on a consistent basis, but I'm not, so you have to just live with a message every now and then. Cami and I visited your family in She-attle. We had a great time. We saw Pike's Place, the wall of gum, the Mariners beat the Rangers (Rangers are now going to the World Series), and we were able to make it to that one guy's mission farewell. I told him since he visited my parents that I was up there to hear him speak in church.

Cami and I have a good chance in adopting twins by the end of the year...I have learned of a thing called the, "nesting stage". This is not a good thing, but apparently every women goes through it. I have had an increase of chores around the house. Chores that Cami and I have been putting off ever since we moved here 3 years ago. It's just terrible. We actually cleaned the window tracks. How does that help the babies? I don't know but it's a necessary evil, apparently.

Lacrosse team is doing well. The JV players from last year are stepping up their games...It appears they did do some work over the summer, and are continuing their off-practice work this fall. We played 6 games this fall, and I have seen great improvement in those 6 games. We've only held practice 1x week this fall, but the players that have been around are starting to get what we're talking about. We're trying to put together a recognition program for this blackout period so the players will still work on the wall. We have 26 freshman signed up this fall and more will sign up in the spring. AF Lacrosse is moving in the right direction. Thanks again for your efforts.

Cami says, "Hey Dude". Cami says he misses you as our "faux child" and wishes you could still be around watching our TV late at night while Cami and I fall asleep trying to stay up and hang out with you.
Time to go to work. TTYL
Paul and Cami

Seattle - Pronounced She-at-tle

2011-10-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

Cami and I visited Seattle this past September during our yearly September get-a-way.

Our main reason for traveling to Washington was to see my cousins and our new friend Hayley. We found her with her daughter at the Mariners/Rangers game. Thanks to Uncle Nils and I for planning the weather on that Friday night: we called for normal Seattle weather, overcast with a chance of rain. The weather was great. The company was great; and, we saw the Mariners win!

Earlier on Friday we visited downtown Seattle. We drove to Bellevue and saw the temple; the church where Uncle Nils took naps under his desk; held our breath the entire drive through the tunnel on Mercer Island; saw the Space Needle on a drive-by; and walked around Pike's Market. We got to sit on the the brass pig at Pike's Market. Pike's Pig is still accepting donations...

Paul and Cami sitting on Pike's Pig. This is the corner of the market where workers throw fish back and forth.

We were amazed at the sight of the bouquets of flowers. These gigantic bouquets were going for $5-$10 each.

Just below Pike's Place is the land of Gum. One day when we have a chance to go back we'll have to do a tour of the Underground Seattle. Can you believe Cami bet me $100 to lick the wall? And I did!

My cousin prayed that it would rain on Saturday so she could go to her friends birthday party. She got her wish. So we spent that Saturday jamming to Rock Band, playing dance games on the Wii, and watching the BYU/Utah game. (The BYU/Utah score was not too fun). Kenny decided to wear a red shirt underneath his hoodie, and reveal his red shirt to his mother about halfway through the game. But I guess we wore out Kenny too much during our jam-out session earlier that day, because he took familiar sleeping position while watching the BYU game. He never was able to make his mom mad by wearing red that day!

We had a great time keeping up my cousins late at night; visiting downtown Seattle, and meeting Hayley.

Thanks for the memories.

Labor Day is not a day of rest

2011-09-26T23:00:00.004-06:00

Cami and I had a goal to ride the Alpine Loop by the end of the summer on our pretty bicycles. Of course Cami hasn't touched her road bike since labor day (due to busy schedules, and the lack of sunlight at 6 am in the morning), but I can't say that I've had much time since then to put some good miles on my bike as well.

Cami and I have had so much fun riding our bikes this summer. Our first big bike trip was down to St. George earlier this spring, and it seems like we've been everywhere a few times in north Utah County, even Eagle Mountain: A shout-out to John and Cosette and kids.

There was some awesome views along our path (see map of our Alpine Loop Trip) but we didn't have time to take them because we didn't want to lose momentum.

Actually, those that know me well wouldn't allow me to post something to my blog without a picture. So here are a few.

This is where we pulled the bikes out of the truck and took a picture at the summit.

I know that's what some of you are thinking. But I have to give props to Cami who was probably not as prepared as we should have been to do this ride. Cami is tougher than she thinks, though. Nice work, Cami.

Go AF Lacrosse

The backside of Mt.Timpanogos.

We hurried and jumped off our bikes and hiked to the saddle of Mt. Timpanogos. But I forgot to take pictures of us at the top. Whoops.

The day couldn't have been better. We left at 7 am, and returned home about 4 hours later. It was thankfully a bit overcast, because the heat probably would have made it much more difficult with us being inexperienced bikers. But we did it, and lived to tell the story!

My First and Last

2011-09-26T22:30:00.001-06:00

I recommend those thinking of doing a yard-sale to re-think immediately!

Let me show you why-

I want to thank all that provided their money donations, their yard-sale donations, and their time. We cannot thank you enough. Good things will happen from this. Stay tuned.

Steel Day Parade

2011-09-26T22:23:00.000-06:00

Have I ever shared with any of you that I "Love" parades. I love them so much I decided to be in the July Steel Day Parade.

I have to admit that if you were to go to a parade it's better to be in the parade than to watch the parade! We were able to throw Otter-pops at little kids. Too bad we didn't have enough to give ever kid an otter-pop. But then again, what's the fun in a parade if everyone get's one of everything.

You're a Tall Family

2011-08-21T10:59:00.005-06:00

While growing up, people would always ask my father how the Hutton kids got so tall? His answer was "because they ate their vegetables?"

The 4th of July weekend was a blast! My sisters Becca, and Sarah; Sarah's husband Craig and son Chris; Cami, and I trekked to Northern California for 4th of July Weekend.

We visited places like Yosemite National Park where we saw Lord Stanley's Cup. We had a spanish language lesson from Sarah in the Mexican Restaurant just outside Yosemite. She tried to pronounce the name of the restaurant multiple times with the assistance of the server. This experience was like the movie, Blue Streak, when Martin Lawrence said in spanish, "I have a cat in my pants". Sarah was just being Sarah.

We spent the 4th of July in Livingston CA, with Grandma Yagi, and the CA Hutton's: Duane, Deanna, Trevor, Spencer, Aimee; and, others. We received a tour of the Yagi Farm. We learned about sweet pototoes, almonds, and peaches.

We spent time in the Sequoia trees of Big Tree. I think we were about the same height as some of these Sequoias. My brother-in-law is 6'6", I'm 6'4", Cami is 5'8", my sister's are 6'3" and 5'6", and my little nephew shown below is a giant.

Visting Nana was fun too. We were able to share our stories of our recent lives; share pictures of dad being silly, and laugh, eat, and play.

The first night after arriving in Stockton, CA we ate at Olive Garden. We had great laughs through dinner. But as we were filing out of the restaurant a server said to us, "You're a tall family". I quickly responded, "Thank You!" like I'd heard it before.

Our Adoption Pass-a-long Card

2011-07-17T23:37:00.002-06:00

Stinking Water Bill!

2011-06-19T19:39:00.008-06:00

I hate coming home after work and seeing a pink slip attached to the front door! My pink slip was from the city water department but gave me no additional information except a name. I don't remember this person's name, so I will call him Billy. I immediately called the water department hoping they were not closed and asked for Billy. Billy wasn't there; however, I knew I needed an answer then or I would just forget about my little pink slip.

You've probably had these types of conversations where you're just frustrated and talking to the receptionist and getting angry at her because... you just want to be frustrated! There is no legitimate reason for you to get angry but you're angry at her even though you know you're just frustrated with this situation.

The receptionist mentioned through my short conversation that sometimes Billy hangs pink slips on doors because there is a water leak and the water meter reading is abnormally high. I hung up the phone regretfully not apologizing for my poor attitude and immediately started looking and thinking of where I had a water leak.

This hasn't been the first time Cami and I have had water issues in our short tenure of homeowners in this house. I peaked in the crawl space looking for water issues, and then I realized I heard water running in the water heater closet. I called my cousin who helped me install my water heater. He came over that night to find the leak and advise what I should do.

I knew that his wife was pregnant, but I had no idea that his wife was due the following day and scheduled for labor. My cousin and I found the leak and talked about when we would try to get back together some time later after the little baby was born and his wife would be doing just fine. Little did we know that they'd run into complications and the little baby was hospitalized for months.

Conversations between my cousin and I about my water leak naturally stopped as he was busy caring for his family. 4 months passed by with Cami and I buying lots of bottled water, turning the main water on and off in our crawl space, in an effort to not have a crazy water bill like the first month after we realized the water leak.

Finally in June, I found a Saturday where my dad and I could get together and see if we could make a mess. We installed this white tank (picture above) on the main water line going into the water heater. This tank helps regulate the high water pressure and I recommend installing it before you have to go through 4 months of fun. Cami and I have a greater appreciation now for being able to turn on the faucet; having running water without having to run down the stairs, climb into the crawl space, and manually turn the water on and off (and try to remember to turn it off before leaving for work).

Stupid Water Bill!

(I'm pointing to the check valve that was leaking for 4 months)

Freedom Cows

2011-06-19T19:32:00.007-06:00

I looked at these cows and they looked back at me. I couldn't tell if they were looking at me because I was wearing my bike gear or if they were looking at me because I was simply looking at them and they are a curious animal by nature...

It had been over three weeks since I played in the Timpanogos HS Alumni game and sprained my MCL. One of my teammates decided to push one of the opposing players into my knee. I could tell it was sprained immediately from my vast experience in spraining and breaking other parts of my body. This was first time I sprained my MCL.

Cami and I planned to go to Arches National Park early in June, but we had to postpone this trip because my knee was not ready. We've tentatively re-scheduled for some time this fall after it's cooled down a bit. Moab is such a hot place we want to make sure we enjoy hiking there.

I've tried swimming again but my strength is not strong enough in the knee to do real swimming (just pretend swimming). I hobbled around in Cash Valley on one good knee during Cami's Red Riding Hood bike ride.

Finally my knee felt good enough to ride my bike in mid-June. My plan was to ride to squaw peak from my house. A fine feat for a beginner biker especially after almost a month of not riding. I made my way through Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Orem and Provo Canyon. I missed my road to turn off from the Provo River Park Trail. So I kept going on the trail. As I approached the South Fork Park I was passed by 5 real road bikers all dressed in the same gear. I couldn't help but admire how fast and smooth they were on their bikes. Someday I thought, someday.... I saw them head up South Fork Canyon so I decided to follow.

My knee was starting to ache and it was dictating how far I traveled that fine Saturday morning. But because I made it this far I knew my knee could handle the wear and tear, even though it's still sore. I was free again from the pains of my knee, at least to ride my bike again and visit cows in South Fork. I take a deep breath of clean mountain air and think, "Freedom".

Strawberries n' Creme

2011-06-19T19:29:00.004-06:00

Here is a cute picture of Paul and I as we are waiting for the Rodeo to start. There were some really fun things to watch. We were able to watch the little jammers do mutton busting. You have to be a hard core cowboy if you are going to put your little kid on a sheep and let them get bucked off. I would have a difficult time letting my kid go through that punishment.

We met Brittani, Kenny, Bryce, Kristy, and the Glauser family at the rodeo and had a great time just spending time with them laughing and watching all of the different events.

Bryce is really good at making us all laugh. He can't ever keep a straight face for the camera.
One of the really funny events is to watch was the "cash cow." I had never seen this before and didn't know where the term came from, but now I know. :) They sent all of the kids out to chase two cows with cash taped to them. It was really funny to watch.

After the cash cow and mutton riding events are over the "big" events started. I haven't been to a rodeo for years and forgot how amazing these guys riding these bucking broncos are!!
Brittani and I did feel bad when the cowboys would tie up the calves and the little cows would just sit there. Paul rolled his eyes and would tell us that they were just fine.

About once I year I crave strawberries n' creme. Luckily there is a rodeo nearby our house where they serve strawberries n' creme.

Lagoon Day 2011

2011-06-19T19:26:00.006-06:00

June 11, 2011 was the annual Russell Family-Visit-Lagoon Day. As always we had I blast, but every year I have to choose my roller coasters carefully.

Cami and I met up with Bryce (Cami's brother) and Kristy (Bryce's wife) at our house and drove up together. Upon entering the park we jumped in line for the "white roller coaster". The white roller coaster is the older ride still around at Lagoon. Every year I've ever been to Lagoon I ride this coaster first. Since this ride is so old it doesn't have the fear factor or whirl and twirl compared to newer rides at Lagoon such as: Spider, Mouse, Wicked, and the Rocket. Bryce, Kristy, Cami and I sat near the back of the coaster train and as we began ascending to the top of the first peak I started screaming. I had more than half the coaster train looking back at me. Throughout the ride I continued to scream random funny things. I wish I could remember now what I said.

After the ride was over I had that feeling it could be a very long day or short day depending on the next few rides I choose to stomach.

We rode the Colossus Firedragon and Wicked within 45 minutes of entering the park, but I knew I was done until after lunch. We met up with the rest of the Russell family and they rode on the "Turn of the Century" swing ride. I found out from the two kid rides I rode last year spinning in circles is no bueno. I don't think I'll ever be able to do the carousel again!

As you can see from the picture above we sat down for hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch. Bryce had finished his lunch before I sat down with my plate of food, so Bryce being bored, challenged me to put my chocolate chip cookie and potato salad in my double patty hamburger. The chocolate chips even melted a little to add a third dimension to my sandwich.

After lunch I had the stomach for just a few more rides; not because of the sandwich though. The entire family met over at the Sky Coaster: a bungee jump ride where Cami and I were strapped into harnesses, raised 145 feet, where I pulled the ripcord and plunged downward reaching 80 mph.

After this ride I felt I could do 2 more rides: Blast Off and Re-Entry. However the lines were too long because they were not working properly. After Cami and Bryce went on one more ride we left the park for our traditional visit to IHOP in Centerville.

I look back now and I can't ever think of a time where I only did 4 rides at an amusement park. There were years where I did each ride 2 or 3 times on a Saturday. A few years ago I found out my reason for my incapacity to do more than what I did a few Saturdays ago: too many concussions!

Adoption Walk

2011-06-19T19:23:00.005-06:00

In May FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) put on an Adoption Walk. This was to celebrate all of the birth mothers that have placed their babies with adoptive couples.

The day in May that the walk is held on is birth mothers day. Paul's parents came out to support us and it was a great time that we could show our support for all of the wonderful birthparents out there and for their sacrifices.

The fire department came for the little kids and showed off their fire trucks. They blew their horns and the kids got to sit in the truck. It was cute.

Everyone who was there to participate received a balloon and walked around the track at Provo high school.

After we walked around the track everyone who was there participating met in the middle and we let our balloons go to represent our unity as adoptive couples and birthparents. It was neat!

Little Red Riding Hood

2011-06-19T19:19:00.003-06:00

So at the beginning of June I was able to do a woman's bike ride called Little Red Riding Hood. I was really excited to experience a woman's ride. The ride was held in Cache County Utah close to Logan, UT. There were different options for lengths that I could ride and I was able to do 80 miles!!! That is to date the longest bike ride that I have done.

The ride had stops where there were treats and a staff to help out with any accomadations that would be needed. It was really awesome and Paul was the best supporter of all. He came to all of the stops that I asked him to. It was awesome to have him there rooting me on.

Having a road bike has been an awesome experience this summer! Paul and I have been able to spend more time time together and it is something that we can do together to be healthy. It has been so much fun and I am looking forward to doing more rides!!

Chandi and Jordo's Wedding

2011-04-24T16:39:00.009-06:00

On March 31st my youngest sister Chandi got married to Jordan Shepard. They are a cute couple. Above is a video of the car that was trashed by Paul and some other family members. This is one of the only ways for Paul to stay sane at a wedding.

The day started with the actual ceremony which was beautiful and all of the "Russell" siblings all high-fived each other as we ended our walk down the aisle. It was such a fun memory.

After the ceremony we went to the luncheon downstairs and laughed a whole bunch with each other. Chandi and Jordo made goo goo eyes at each other as we all enjoyed the yummy food and told funny stories.

(Paul's talent show during the wedding luncheon)

After the luncheon Bryce, Kristy, Paul, and I went and purchased what would be used to decorate the car. After this we went to the reception.

The reception made my feet hurt and Paul was MIA quite a bit of the time as this is his least favorite part of weddings.

After the night was over as a whole family we went to dinner at IHOP. It was fun to talk to each other and spend some time talking and laughing some more. We all have a good time together and really enjoy each other's company.

New Bikes

2011-03-20T10:42:00.011-06:00

Paul and I bought new road bikes in February and have enjoyed learning the tricks of riding these bikes around. Road bikes are the bikes with the really thin tires. They take a little more balance than the average mountain bike. This is something that Paul found out the hard way.

Paul went out for a ride close to our house. The tracks run at a 45-degree angle from the road. Paul re-learned the laws of inertia when his body followed the road and his bike followed the path of the tracks. Below are the pictures that show the proof of his crash. He had a nice elbow scrape, knee scrape, and his hand was a little scraped up too.

This month (April) we decided to go to St. George and we took the road bikes with us. We didn't realize how many awesome trails there are out there for beginners. It was a great way for me to familiarize myself with road biking on these trails and catch the excitement of road biking. Paul is great at pushing me on the bike too. I forgot to bring sunscreen and got a nice sunburn with the glove tan lines to go with it.

Here we are along one of the trails. The weather was so nice and warm in St. George. We were sad that our trip was so short. We still haven't had this nice of weather in Utah county. We now know why retired people live there for the cold months. We could get use to being in St. George riding around for a few more days at least.

AF High Lacrosse Season

2011-03-20T10:42:00.006-06:00

Spring time means lacrosse season. I am the head lacrosse coach at American Fork High School. Lacrosse season actually started back in January with conditioning and weight lifting. This season hasn't treated us very kindly; but, I am excited about the future of the program. We just don't have much depth and we are a very young team.

There are three more games in the next week and a half until we complete our short 13-game season. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear we'll be moving to the post-season this year.

It has been fun coaching these players; also coaching with Bill Peperone, Wesley Duke, Josh Berrett, and my cousin Scott Nelson.

I'm looking forward to developing some of the younger players this summer and next fall. Hopefully they'll put the time and effort into their lacrosse skills after our season is over.

My tooth, my tooth, my lovely lady tooth - Check it Out!

2011-02-13T09:44:00.004-07:00

I chipped my tooth eating at Kneaders Bakery one day at lunch. Paul suggested I tell everyone that we'll never eat at Kneaders again; however, I'll never be able to say that. I love Kneaders!

So I had to have my tooth replaced with a crown. They had to take off the vaneer and all that remained is this cute little stub. The crown took a few weeks to make so I was called 'stubs' for a few weeks! Just kidding. They put a temporary tooth on little stubs while I was waiting for my beautiful new crown.

Shiloh's Birth

2011-02-13T09:43:00.007-07:00

My sister Brittani went into labor with her first baby on January 30th! It was a really special experience for me because she allowed me to be apart of the labor and delivery. Kenny and Brittani's decision was to allow me to be there because I am not able to get pregnant. It was such a bonding and special experience! Thank you Brittani and Kenny for allowing me to be there during your very special moments! I will never forget it.

Here is Brittani experiencing labor first hand. She waited to see if she could do labor naturally and made it to a 7 without an epidural. It was amazing to watch!

Here is cute little Shiloh with all of his amazing hair!!! He came to the world weighing 6lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He is so cute, I could have just taken him home.

Here I am the proud aunt holding the tiny bundle. He is such a calm baby and so snuggly.

Here is proud Brittani and Kenny just a few minutes after labor was over. I am so thankful that I could be there, but after experiencing it, I think there is a reason I am adopting :)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-16T10:03:00.007-07:00

This year Christmas was at the Hutton's house. We had a lot of fun enjoying everyone's company and eating yummy food together. Mom and Dad sure know how to spoil us rotten!

Mom (far left) made all of the girls matching aprons. She is an amazing seamstress and puts so much thought into all of her gifts.

Wonderful gifts from mom and dad. Making faces for the camera!

Our nephew Christopher received snow gear from grandma and grandpa. Craig (dad) decided to get him in his hat just because it got us to laugh.

Here Sarah and I are taking a picture of each other taking a picture.

Cool Looks!

2011-01-16T09:50:00.006-07:00

Paul doesn't care for his picture to be taken often except when there are props.

Paul is showing off his new Christmas gloves. Those are some nice gloves.

We were walking around Walmart one night when we stopped to check out the nice jewelry. We found some cute glasses and a rainbow bracelet that reminded us of our trip to Cape Cod in the fall of 2010. Paul had to try them on. Paul sure does look good in these.

Paul and Cami went Christmas shopping at the Recreation Outlet in American Fork. When you go shopping for clothes you typically try them on first to make sure they fit and they look good. I made sure I looked good in this sleeping bag before I purchased it!

Adoption Profile

2010-12-31T11:59:00.002-07:00

Hey Everyone!

It's official! We have been approved by LDS Family Services to adopt. Our Profile has been added to the website: itsaboutlove.org. Our profile number is 25000554.

Paul and Cami

BYU/Utah Football Game-The Aftermath

2010-12-05T15:40:00.003-07:00

November 27, 2010.

Sarah, Craig, Christopher, Gary, and Raquel visited us to watch the BYU vs. Utah Football game. Shortly after the game was over Christopher woke up from his nap.

Christopher jumped on Paul's lap and started singing songs as it was part of his master plan to ruin the rest of Paul's afternoon. Paul had mentioned to me that Christopher was giving him the "bug-eye" which Paul mistakenly took as a sleepy look before Christopher took his nap.

Paul thought it was all fun and games with Christopher on his lap singing songs, and then suddenly Paul said to the rest of the group, "He feels really warm on his backside!" Paul looked down on his lap and saw a big wet spot. Christopher did the most unimaginable thing- He peed on his favorite uncle.

We all a good laugh at Paul's expense especially because the BYU vs. Utah game didn't turn out as it should have.

Thanks Christopher for the laughs!

- Harley

Adobe Halloween

2010-12-05T15:16:00.003-07:00

This year I was able to participate in Adobe's Halloween celebration. This is a really big deal here in the Utah office. Each department takes more than a week decorating their designated area. We get more than $1000.00 per area to decorate and most everyone dresses up. For the 28th and 29th there was no work done. We just decorated and participated in activities put on by the company.

My area was decorated like Shrek's forest. It was really neat. I rented my costume from the Hale Center theater. I was the Narcotic Sleeping Beauty. It was such a blast. We were able to have some of our family members come through. There were a few thousand people that came through.

This is Farquad torturing the Gingerbread Man.

These are my gal pals Kathy and Kelly

A picture of me, Kathy, Kirsten, Jessica, and Kelly in the front.

Adoption Process

2010-11-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Family and Friends,

Cami and Paul are getting closer. Thanks to Angel and the wonderful pictures she took we have completed our profile and submitted it to LDS Family Services for them to process the paperwork and complete the report.

Paul and Cami have just a few more steps with our case worker, Adrienne, before our profile can be posted on itsaboutlove.org. At that time we'll let you know our profile number and also post it on our blog for all to see.

Thanks to all for your support!

Harley

Paul's Sesamoidectomy

2010-10-03T20:45:00.001-06:00

Paul had surgery on not one but two of his feet in August. (I guess that makes way for more than two feet).

I always forget how difficult it is coming out of surgery. I told Cami she could just pick me up at the hospital after surgery was over. She decided to take two days off for my surgery (Women's intuition).

Thanks to Cami for taking two days off I could go to the bathroom and eat food since I was stuck on the couch with two swollen feet. We used the train method for me to get to the bathroom since I wasn't good at just balancing all my weight on the heels of my feet.

Here is a picture of the bones of the foot. I'm pointing to the tibial sesamoid bone that was removed from each of my feet.

Here is a picture of my foot about 1 week after the surgery.

Boston Baby!

2010-10-03T20:35:00.000-06:00

Cami and I traveled to Boston Sept 2010. Places and things we did: Boston Red Sox game, Cape Cod and the Atlantic Ocean, the Freedom trail, and Joseph Smith's birth place in Sharon Vermont. We got an awesome tour of Harvard via Jeremy Bylund and visited my cousins Reed, Doris, and Olivia.

I found some writings in the sand.
A foundation of Joseph Smith grandparents' home.

The Atlantic Ocean (I'm pointing at it in the picture)

Paul Revere's grave site found on the freedom trail
Joseph Smith's Birthplace monument. Standing in the picture (left to right) Paul, Cami, Natalie, Christopher, and Jeremy.
We received the special tour and drove the golf cart in Sharon, VT.
We found a large macaroni on the freedom trail. Kind of strange that this macaroni thing has been here since the 18th century.
More freedom trail shenanigans.
Christopher Bylund running around keeping his parents busy at the burial site.
Boston Red Sox game. Can you tell we've been traveling all day?
Big Papi hitting a home-run.

Tim McGraw

2010-10-03T20:18:00.001-06:00

Cami and I went to the Tim McGraw Concert when he was in town this past August. This was Cami's first concert. We had really close seats (see pictures below)! :)

Hotel Pool

2010-10-03T19:37:00.000-06:00

One morning Cami and I decided to swim at the hotel pool on our trip to Las Vegas. It was early in the morning and the hotel was shading the pool. I jumped in first. Cami was about to dip her toes in the water to test the temperature. I somehow talked her out of it and said "All or nothing". She plugged her nose and jumped in. She almost swallowed a gallon of water gasping for air as the water temperature shocked her before she could get her head out of the water. We had a great laugh about how I tricked her into jumping in the water.

Las Vegas Trip: July 2009

2010-10-03T19:05:00.000-06:00

Well. It's been some time since we've posted. We meant to post about our trip to Las Vegas but we postponed blogging about it until now.

We had a week off of work around the 4th of July. We decided to go down to Vegas and St. George. Our major thrills we had to do while down there was see Tarzan at Tuacahn; Blue Man Group in Vegas; and of course, shopping at the outlet malls. We also saw the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. I still yell out "Haazaa" where Cami then has to repeat. Great Times.

Pictures at Blue Man Group-

Picture of us at Tuacahn; waiting for the show to start.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-12-28T11:36:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas!!!! We had such a great holiday! I hope you all did too! There is sooo much to go over. With both families in town we are blessed to spend time with both families :) So here goes!

Here is Harley sitting in front of the tree on Christmas morning. Santa treated us right!

On Christmas Eve we spend the evening with my family. This year Brittani was having some really bad stomach pains and we ended up in the ER. The doctors weren't sure exactly what was wrong, but they sent her home with some meds and she was really sleepy. So we had some really funny and fun times as a family.

Christmas morning at the Russell's. Paul making breakfast and showing off his belt buckle!!

I got a sewing machine!! Hooray!!!!

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Paul is in love with the tool set that he received!!!

I made this quilt for my parents! Everyone who sees this should be proud (it is my first one!)

After the morning's events we went up to Soldier Hollow for some sledding!!!

Sisters getting ready to go down the hill!

Paul calls this cheater sledding because we didn't have to walk up the hill, we just had to hook up to a tow rope and then slide down! AWESOME!!!

Onto the Hutton's for round two of Christmas :) Paul and cute little Christopher staying warm!

Showing off the gift that Paul and I gave to Momma Hutton!

Paul loves Parcheesi!

Cute little Jori showing off the pillow that Grandma Hutton made for her!

Cameron is obsessed with LEGOs at the moment, he was really excited to get some more.

We played games on Christmas Night with the Hutton family and Paul got to be "Made Up" as part of one of the games. Isn't he cute?

Finally Posting Again!!!

2009-12-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Yes it is true! I am going to post something after 5 months! I finally had my last day of work and wanted to share a few of the pictures of the friends that I spent the last few years spending the work week with. I had no idea what an emotional day it would be to leave this company, but it definitely was. I am on to a new adventure. I took the holidays off and I am going to be looking for something new after the New Years Holiday!

This is Lexi we would run errands together and talk about workingout and all of that fun stuff!

This is Chelsea. We sat next to each other and would chat all day. I really miss her. She is such a cutie and loved hanging out with Chels.

From left to right, Robin, Me, DeAnn and Kyle. These are the Admin and they were really great to work with and made sure we got the severance and kept things sane the last few months.

I don't know where I am headed next, but a new adventure surely awaits :)

4th of July: Night of Glorious Fireworks

2009-07-12T22:51:00.000-06:00

The Plan: Watch the Thankgiving Point Fireworks.

We found a road out in the middle of Lehi close to the Jordan River, out in the mosquito infested alfalfa fields. We put plenty of bug spray on and watched Jorie and Cameron do sparklers while waiting for the big show.

Once the show actually started, this is how we ended up. Cosette, John, and mom watched as Jorie slept in John's lap. Paul tried to stay away from the mosquitoes and take a little nap.

Dad and Cameron played Uno in the car.

And Cami...she watched with her eyelids closed from inside the truck to stay away from the mosquitoes and the cold July wind.

2009-07-12T22:37:00.000-06:00

John, Jessie and family: here are some pictures of our camping trip. Sorry they're not as active as I thought they'd be. But here is evidence that your dog is still alive.

Sitting around the campfire, each of us is holding a dog. Pictured we have Paul with Harley, Cami with Ashley, Brittani with Piper, and Kenny with Pixie.

We took Ashley and Harley on the hike to Stuart falls, but we didn't have them climb up the rock to where we took that last picture in this post.

After our hike we went home, and the dogs crashed. They tired us out, and I guess we tired them out.

Rat Dog

2009-05-19T21:47:00.000-06:00

Harley got groomed last week. It was a little sad. Paul and I always know that when he gets his summer shaving that he will look like a rat, but this time we just had to giggle. His nick name when he gets groomed is "Rat Dog."

Before:

The after is silly because he looks like he has a cowboy mustache and the groomer left the hair on the ears long. Harley always looks like a different dog when he gets groomed and my siblings don't want to walk him because they think he is so hideous. I still love him because he is my dog and I guess it is something similar to a mom because I always think he is cute.

After:

There he is our super "Rat Dog."

Paul's Surgery

2009-05-13T20:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, so Paul had to have his gallbladder removed on Monday. No one told us how adventurous this could be!

We arrived at the hospital at 8 am and of course I led us to the wrong Same Day Surgery location. No one told us that there were two and Paul of course was leading us in the right direction in the first place. Silly me, I thought I knew everything, but they can't do surgery without the patient.

When we paid our first installment (which we are now very poor by the way) they gave Paul the wrong wristband. They had given him a wristband for a lady named Karen. Good thing he didn't have her surgery because they were going to have him get an EKG. Who knows what they would have ended up doing (a bypass maybe)!!

Once we were finally settled in Paul got comfortable and things were going good. Things went well for the remainder of the time while we were at the hospital. He had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia and was sleepy, so we didn't leave the hospital until about 1:45pm or maybe 2pm. He did everything he was supposed to. He ate 2 Fig Newtons, a Grape Popsicle, and drank some water. He also did some walking. They gave me the instructions on how to take care of him and then sent us on our way.

We made it all of the way home without any issues until. . . I walked around to Paul's side of the car to help him out and he was holding up the bag that they gave him "just in case he needed it." Well I am here to tell you he more than needed it. All of the water and everything listed above came spewing out. We thought that this was going to be the end of it. We got him settled in. He couldn't quite make it up the stairs, so he settled in on the couch. I got him a pillow and his mom was nice enough to come over while I went and picked up a few things for him.

I came home got him some lunch and gave him the next round of meds. He didn't even keep it down for ten minutes. It came back up again! Poor guy. Pain was starting to set in and now he couldn't even keep the fluids in. It was pretty bad. The doctor's office had to call in some anti-nausea medicine for him, so that he could actually keep something down.

Thankfully today has been better and he is now on the up and up!

It's Spring

2009-04-28T21:12:00.000-06:00

I know that it has been a LONG time since we have posted anything on our blog. I finally decided that I would take it over. Paul has taken a new job and is very busy. This was originally his project and I wasn't going to have anything to do with blogging, but I have surrendered and here I am blogging world.
Paul and I have been setting goals on a weekly basis and one of my new goals is to keep up our blog. I am not exactly sure what that means at this point, but I think it means I will be blogging about once a week. This means that I need to be taking a lot more pictures!!!
One thing that you can tell by the pic is that Harley (and Paul and I) is very excited that spring is finally starting to creep in. He loves the planter boxes in the backyard and will sit in the sun as long as it is nice outside.
Until next week. . .

The Sword of Laban

2008-12-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Sword of Laban has been found. It is located in a glass case in the basement of the BYU bookstore. It can be purchased for $250. Here is your evidence...

Potatoes!!!

2008-12-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Freakin' Birthday Paul.

This is Paul showing off what he got for his birthday gifts. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts.

Paul was fortunate enough to have a birthday and also receive:

A Mr. Potato Head masseur
Two combs: including a hair clipper set
A automatic card shuffler (Paul doesn't know how to shuffle cards well, so this will help when he plays Boolund Canasta)
A bucket of Nutella: included with this bucket is a gift card to Seagull Book
A book: Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith
The Movie: Dan in Real Life; Cami didn't think the book was enough so she got this movie too.
A text from Sarah, which in return Paul called her to find out she forgot it was Paul's borned-day

Paul's only wish was a 6th string for his guitar. Cami refused to get this for him. Hopefully, Paul will get his wish from Santa this year, instead of the lump of coal he received last year.

Mr. "Old Man" Beardy

2008-11-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Harley paid a visit to the hair salon and they gave him a poodle cut.

We can't blame it all on the hair people because we didn't tell them exactly what we wanted but it was surprising to see an older dog come out of the hair salon.

His new nickname is Mr. "Old Man" Beardy!

Before...

After...

Cami's Anniversary

2008-11-16T08:44:00.002-07:00

Cami and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on November 7, 2008. The Utah Jazz decided to celebrate it too, by having a game vs. the Oklahoma Thunder. It was Jerry Sloan's 1,000th victory with one team that Friday. Thanks Jazz for celebrating our marriage by this momentous occasion.

We also went to the Body Worlds Museum. We found out we couldn't take pictures inside the museum, so this is what you get...

Thanks Jazz and Body Worlds for making our day great!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, Everyone! We just wanted to show off our costumes. Well, let me clarify that: Cami wanted to show off her costume.

This is Cami and her friend Vicky.

Cami didn't win the costume contest held at her work. Oh well! She was able to dress up like she's always wanted to but never could because this a 2008 fashion "no no"

And this is me. I'm a pumpkin. (I didn't have the Halloween spirit at work on Friday.)

Driving me Crazy

2008-11-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

For the entire month of October, day and night we've had the joy of listening to this wonderful Halloween music. Here is a sample for you all to listen to.

Our house is situated in a townhome development, but the backyard of our house touches a semi-busy road. Across the street, nonetheless, is this outside Halloween decoration that plays music. The owners never turned it off.

As I sit here in my office, typing away on this wonderful blog, I can hear cars passing by. Last month, I also could hear the sounds of the wonderful Halloween decoration. Now that I haven't heard it for two days, I kind of miss it.

I wish I had Dorothy's red sparkly shoes, so I could tap them together and go back home. We moved in at the end of September, so the majority of the time we've lived here we have heard the sounds of this melodious decoration. It was home! We don't know anything different.

Does anybody know how to get that awful twitch out of your neck???

Road Trip

2008-10-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

Jeremy Bylund and I drove across the country in 28 hours in August. Here are some pictures along the way. We left Wednesday, August 13 @ 1 pm from Salt Lake City. We arrived in Charlottesville, VA Friday around 2 pm EST. Saturday morning we drove up to DC and hung out with Jeremy's friend in the nation's capital.

After driving almost 12 straight hours through the beautiful states of Wyoming and Nebraska we stayed with our friends, the Johnson's. David and Brandi adopted a new little jammer, Henry, not too long ago. Thanks to David and Brandi we had a good nights rest and delicious cinnamon rolls for breakfast. This is Jeremy Bylund. Doesn't he look happy at the overlook to the Shenandoah Valley?
Just in case you wanted to know, I'm pointing at the Shenandoah Valley where many battles where fought during the Civil War.
I told Jeremy if I was going to help him move across the country we had to go to a MLB game. Granted, it was the Nationals. But their ballpark was nice! Mark me down for my 3rd MLB game and my 3rd MLB ballpark. The other two were St. Louis and Kansas City.
When we were in DC we stayed with Jeremy's friends. We didn't get to see much of DC because we didn't have much time, but we quickly walked through the Air and Space Museum. We got around using the Metro, which was pretty fun, considering we had a guide, in Jeremy's friend, to help us get around.

Somehow with all the traveling and moving we did, Jeremy and I still saw Michael Phelps win a few gold medals. Thursday night we stayed in Morehead, KY (an hour east of Lexington KY) with Jeremy's Uncle and Aunt. There we watched Michael Phelps extraordinarily win a race.

September means St. George

2008-10-12T10:44:00.000-06:00

I know that these pictures are going out of order, because we moved into our new place after we spent a few days down in Saint George, UT. But, hey, it's my blog and I'll do what I want.

This picture is my ill-attempt to take a picture of the both of us at the same time. If we had a slide show I could show you all the bloopers in attempting this picture. Apparently I don't know how to point the camera straight forward.

We are sitting in the audience of the Les Miserable play at Tuacahn.You've got to remember where you parked or it's going to be a long night after the show.
We actually remembered and Cami showed her affection to the sign.

Our House

2008-10-12T10:20:00.001-06:00

We wanted to start this blog by showing off our new house. We purchased a townhome in Sept. of 2008. In addition to buying the house we were able to bring Harley home, too.

This is our family room where we play catch, and tackle football.

This is our kitchen where Harley stares at us while we're making food.
This is the master bedroom. Harley is still learning to only get on the bed when we tell him he can.
This is our office. Hidden in this picture is our computer which helps me create this wonderful blog.
This is our second bedroom. Whenever we get a kid, we'll let 'em shack up in this room. Until then, we'll make it our indoor workshop (indoor workshop sounds better than a "craft room")
This is our way to keep Harley upstairs when we're upstairs. He tends to wander off so we like to keep him in "doggie prision".

For all you dog lovers out there, it's not really a dog prison. (It's a gate at the top of the stairs.)