Mountain Trip: Hanging Rock

We planned a little NC mountain vacation to celebrate Devin's graduation. We've never been to the NC "mountains" before, and although they're not the Rockies, they are breath taking. Along the way we stopped off at a Hanging Rock State Park and did a cool hike to waterfalls.

Cambry taught me how to test the density of an object by tapping it with a rock. We tapped all the nature we could with our little rocks.

We made it to the falls in one piece!

Perfect spot for our picnic lunch

Cambers started out quite timid, but soon became an excellent climber

Veena did her best to keep up with the big sis. p.s. see that dread in the back of her hair?? She rubbed her head in her car seat a little rigorously apparently.

We hiked down this little gully and were at the top of the next waterfall. The girls loved racing sticks and leaves off the waterfall.

I love these tight squeeze snuggles of Vienna's. The scenery is beautiful too.

The whole fam

The water felt nice, and we did a little wading... 

And then the minis did A LOT of wading (cutest bum and thighs!). 

The handsome husband in his element in nature

Cambry has a stick fetish. She dragged this stick up the steep trail with no problem. Oh and her shorts were too wet to wear, much to her pleasure.

Happy Birthday, Cambry!

Cambry has been dying to open this present from Grandma Beck for weeks since it came in the mail so long ago! She loves the books and especially loves "reading" them to Veena. Thanks Grandma Beck!

She was so excited about the toys and shoes Grandma Rappleye gave her and takes this little flash light with her all over the place. She is constantly changing the color of the light, what a fun feature. Thank you Grandma Rappleye!

We put balloons on her floor and streamers on her door. She had a great time with both.

Since going to the beach the previous week, Cambry is obsessed with the beach, so that's what the theme of her cake was. She was so pleased with it, especially the little "brellas" and the octopus on the sides.

We had a few friends over to celebrate Cambry with us, and it was perfect- nice and low key. Happy Birthday Cambers!

Cambry - 3 years old

May 14th, Cambry turned 3! She is such a happy, sensitive, caring girl. She frequently serenades us around the house with anything from "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" or lyrics and melodies she creates. She asks questions all day long, such as, "Mommy are you happy or tired?"  or "Is my blanket clean or wet?". She is constantly pointing out letters that she sees and trying to make connections to sounds, like "Hey here's a little "t", T is for D-D-Daddy." She is constantly making sure that Vienna is taken care of too. Devin took Cambry out on a Daddy-Daughter date the other night and she was so concerned what Vienna was doing the whole time and kept asking if Vienna was going to get a turn with just Daddy too. She is starting to talk around familiar people a lot more, but always feels more comfortable talking just to the kids. Her imagination is blossoming and likes pretending to cook, playing doctor, riding in airplanes and trains, going on made up vacations, and visiting pretend and real friends. As of late she tells Vienna, "I don't like it when you do that" instead of having a melt down (And Vienna STOPS what she's doing!!). Cambry is independent much of the time and gets herself dressed most days (although most times she thinks a shirt, panties, and sandals constitutes an outfit). She doesn't eat very much and mostly runs from point A to B. We have a hard time finding pants that stay on her she's such a string bean, which is probably why she doesn't put pants/shorts on herself in the first place (dresses are our best friend).  She loves the out doors and always needs a stick to  carry.  She's her daddy's little girl through and through, and most always prefers that he brushes her teeth or gets her a drink over mommy.

The morning before Cambry's Birthday, I found these goofy girls both sitting in a basket. Cambry's telling me she's turning 3 tomorrow.

She loves dressing up in princess costumes

We love you Cambry girl!

Graduation Ceremony and Photos (7 new posts)

Devin's Graduation ceremony was a great milestone, and I'm so glad we decided to participate in it. I was so glad we got to take an afternoon to celebrate Devin and his accomplishments over the past 2 years. While the names of the graduates were read, the girls kept saying (at various degrees of volume) "Where's daddy? Is it daddy's turn? Daddy? Daddy?" Several minutes later, their daddy entered and the girls immediately began to run up to the front yelling "DADDY!!" We were on the second row, so it wasn't a great distance to him. Fortunately, Cambry got extremely intimidated by the big line of professors, and grabbed Vienna's hand and they both made their way back to their seats.

Clapping and cheering for Daddy

Afterwards, all the graduates got together for pictures, and Vienna couldn't wait any longer. She spotted Master Daddy, and sprinted over to him. Devin said it was a melt-your-heart dad moment for him.

In front of the Nuclear Engineering building

It was hard to keep the kids out of the photos

There is a beautiful little Arboretum right behind his building, that we snapped a few shots at. He took many breaks from the computer screen in this pretty little acreage.

This is Devin typing now. Didn't Joslyn do a great job taking these photos with kids nipping at her feet and with a camera that has been dropped a time or two?

Graduation

Joslyn:

Master Devin completed his masters degree and defended his thesis in December in Nuclear Engineering. He spent much of the past few years in this building conducting his research and going to classes. It's not much to look at (although Devin is :)), but this building was his second home the past few years. I'm so proud of him and his hard work ethic to be working with some of the most brilliant minds in his field.

Devin:

I'm not really a sentimental person but, this graduation represented to so much for me. As of last Monday, I wasn't planning on walking or anything. The Masters isn't my end goal and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. By Wednesday, I had my cap, gown and hood purchased. I just felt that I needed to do this. Thursday, the details of my transfer to the U of U are finalized and we decide to take the chance. Saturday, I'm walking and feel so much closure and peace about our life in NC and our decision to move to Utah. In some sense, it was like a graduation from North Carolina. We have learned and grown so much out here. Not only have I been in a master's program, but so has my whole family. 

This also represented to me 7 years of my life. I went straight from BYU to NC State in a matter of weeks after the fall semester in 2010. So, I wasn't around in the spring to walk for my Bachelors. I finally let the full feeling of accomplishment soak in. I'm not gonna lie; it felt good. It felt even better seeing Joslyn's and the girls' beaming faces in the crowd and afterwards. Oddly enough, both Cambry and Vienna seemed to grasp the importance of the occasion. Being in that cap and gown and hugging my loved ones felt so good.

Lastly, graduation represented days, months and years that Joslyn spent at home changing exploded diaper, listening to choirs of screaming children and waking up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying babe. It represented living in tiny apartments that are in sketchy parts of town where the police are frequently visiting and sometimes pounding on your neighbors door at 3 am, where neighbors are having dance parties late into the night. This represents sometimes only eating spaghetti for dinner and before getting married, sometimes nothing at all just to make ends meet. This represents all things, trips and time that was sacrificed. And you know what? It was worth it.

The Beach

Friday we went to the beach to celebrate Devin's semester completed. It was a perfect 85 degrees, although with the cooler weather this spring, the water hasn't had a chance to warm up too much. We had so much fun in the shallows and playing on the beach.

The kids watching a military helicopter fly by the shoreline

Jack Jack is such a cutie!!

Devin built some Roman baths with the kids: with 3 different temperatures. They (kids and Devin) loved it of course.

It was fun to have Steph and her kids with us.

Climbing the sand dune

Made it to the top. Vienna dragged that umbrella pole all over the beach with her. It was heavy and much taller than her, but she was extremely attached to it and didn't seem to mind the added inconvenience.