Heavenly Days with the Camerons

We have spent the last 5.5 days with Blake and Shonna (Kristen's sister) in Columbus and it was so wonderful to be with them! This is the first time that we have been able to visit them since they moved there last year so that Blake could attend dental school at OSU. We loved being able to see their beautiful home and get a glimpse into their busy, productive, and selfless lifestyle. They treated us so well...homebaked bread, delicious and healthy meals, delightful games, late-night talks and, fun, daily activities etc. They are such amazing people. Here are some of our adventures:

Picnic and Walk at a Metro Park Aunt Joan, this one was a definite 10!Can you see the caterpillar? I can't, but they must be able to!Nathan's turn to hold the caterpillar. He LOVES bugs!Off we go on a walk through the beautiful scenery!

Nathan and Blake take turns making funny noises--Hilarious!

Family Home EveningOpening song: A wisk makes a great baton and Shonna and Nathan did a great job accompanying us.Jared and Blake singing"Nathan, where is the bee?" As if on cue, a bee buzzes into the room. Where it came from...we don't know.

Blake, the busiest of all of us, got up at 5:30 to prepare our FHE lesson before school. The kids loved his lesson...as did we! He is a great teacher.

Activity: Blake shows us his dental equipment - COOL!Brielle was absolutely glued! I think we may have a budding doctor or dentist on our hands; she is SO interested in anything related to those professions. Blake kindly brought home more tools etc. the next day for another learning session. She was just as glued the next day as well, despite being exhausted.Brielle gets to touch the treasured tooth.Nathan finds treasures as well (a talent he has just recently discovered).

Hanging out at their houseOur new favorite game--Ticket to Ride. We played it with them over Christmas Break at Blake's parents' home and had a blast. After we asked about it on Saturday, cute Blake disappeared for 30-45 minutes. I thought he was studying until we noticed his car was gone. He had gone to a friend's home to borrow the game. We played it five times throughout the weekend (and it isn't a short game!). We LOVED it!Blake and Nathan play the "pots" (piano).While Shonna and Brielle read stories.Ring Around the RosiesGrandpa MachineThey had a bunny in their backyard! We also got to feed the fish in their pond. They ate right out of our hands. Cool!

Shonna and BrielleAre the muffins ready yet?Yep! The two of them cooked together a lot.The piano was a favorite focus for all of us over the weekend.

Girls' Day OutJared offered to take the kids so that Shonna and I could have a "girls' day out" on Wednesday. Shonna had taken the day off of work. We had SO much fun!She took me to the Morgan House: a FUN store. We had a blast browsing through room after room of "way to expensive" decorating items etc. Then we went to lunch at their yummy restaurant. The atmosphere and food was so enjoyable!Creamy Califlower Soup - Delish!

Turkey Cranberry Sandwith with Salad

We also stopped at a couple of other stores and made bracelets together. I so enjoyed having time to just hang out and talk with one of my best friends ever, with no interruptions. Such good memories.

Miniature Golfing Mom tries her hand. Nathan's turn. He got a hole-in-one on this shot. First shot ever! Woo-hoo!

Check out Brielle's form. Isn't she good? :) She started each hole about 1 foot away because the beginning was "too far away." As a result, she got a lot of holes-in-one. The kids lasted about 3 holes and then they just ran around carrying their golf balls while Jared and I played.

Here Jared and the kids are looking at one of the bull frogs we found in a pond by the course. We also saw a nesting duck and when she moved a bit we saw two duckling heads peek out, as well as some unhatched eggs. Cool! The kids also enjoyed the numerous caterpillars.
Columbus ZooFirst stop: the baby elephant.

The chip and Brielle have a heart to heart while Nathan looks on.
Nathan's face in this picture pretty much captures his mood for the day...grumpy. ...grumpy...except when we were in the aquarium. He LOVED the "shish" (fish). He got so excited he couldn't contain himself.Brielle touches a sea star.Jared feeds the birds.Brielle wanted to "ride a horsey."Cute girl

Finally, Nathan had had enough! I enjoyed cuddling him while Jared took Brielle to brush the goats. I got the better end of that deal! :)