Our past week was mostly consumed with packing, while lamenting that we have too 
much stuff, and living in a disaster zone. We did manage to fit in a few fun things. As an early Father's Day gift, Callie and I gave Cameron tickets to the Yankees vs. Diamondbacks game. So Tuesday night we along with the Collings family, trucked it to NYC, where we parked and road the subway into Yankees stadium. With traffic, a down pour of rain, a few potty breaks, and a slight subway mix up, I really thought we were never going to make it. We arrived to the stadium 1 hour late. To o
ur surprise the game was in the first inning. We had a great time! Callie had been waiting for it all day, and she really enjoyed it. She and Julia were clapping and dancing the whole game. Ever since she has been talking about the "soccer/basketball/baseball" game. Sadly our beloved Diamondbacks lost. The only other truly eventful day was Saturday, feeling the urge to exercise I woke up and went down to the ward ultimate Frisbee game. I was discouraged to find out that I was the only girl and was ready to turn back. The teams however were uneven so they begged me to stay so everyone could play. It was a fun morning I came back energized and ready to work only to find Callie in her PJ's and Cameron still in bed. Later that night, the Buehner's had a dinner party that would please any appetite. They really went all out with a variety of options, Salmon, shrimp, chicken, steak. Who has time to make all of that and watch twin boys? The Buehner's are amazing. I am glad we got to visit with so many of our friends. We are going to be sad to leave all our friends here, but know we will keep in touch with many, and hear about
others in the world news as they win Nobel Prizes, win seats on the Supreme Court, and become Apostles in the Church :). Sunday I said a sobbing goodbye to all my Young Women. I really have learned a lot from them, and love them all individually. Some of the circumstances they come from are unimaginable. I know they are all choice spirits who can conquer their challenges and will become leaders in the community, in the church, and in their homes. In other news: we "think" we may have decided on ASU. (Unless UofA miraculously gets back to us before we have made any financial deposits in the housing area.) So we will happily join our family and friends back in the devilish heat of the Phoenix area. We leave here on the 29th and will travel through some church sites before taking a flight to Reno from Chicago. Cameron will finish the drive solo. We will all spend a few weeks in Reno, and then head south. We expect to see all you "Desert Dwellers" soon.
Yesterday we got some good ones. Callie had eaten a granola bar for breakfast. I was working on the computer when I heard her small voice call out, "Oh, no, Mama Help!" So I went to investigate. "What is wrong Callie." She seemed OK just playing at her table. She replied "help mama, bar in there," as she pointed to her bare belly. I thought she was trying to tell me she was full and the bar was now in her tummy. Wow, I thought that was a smart observation. "Oh you ate the bar? and now it is in your tummy?" I said. "Yeah, mama help." I told her politely that once you eat something you can not take it out of your stomach. Then she gave me the piece of evidence I was missing by saying, "No mama, in there, help,"and pointing directly to her belly button. Well, come to find out there was a small kernel of granola bar stuck in her belly button. We carefully cleaned out her "BeeBo", because she does not like any thing to touch it, and all was well again. Last night was great we went to the Yankees vs. Diamondbacks game with the Collings. Callie had been talking all day about how we were "Going to see the soccer ball," and as it got later "I want to see the soccer game." We kept reminding her it was a Baseball game. Then she would repeat us and say "Oh yeah, Baseball game." When we were finally there and I could tell she was having a great time. I asked, "Callie is this fun?" Her reply was priceless, "Yeah, mama Basketball is fun." Well, she was at least on the right letter. This morning however, she did wake up talking about the baseball game, and how she wanted to watch baseball.
We are in our last month of our New England life style. While our life style has neither been rich nor famous, we have done some fabulous things, and seen some great places. This past week we decided to venture out and see some of the the most famous coastal areas of New England. So we started our venture in Falmouth, MA. Where is Falmout
h you ask? And do all the people have Tourette's Syndrome? Falmouth pronounced (falmuth), is one of the southern most ports of Cape Cod. Though you might expect people there would have a cussing problem we really only had one waitress that seemed to know a few foul words. To my disappointment and Callie's delight the Historical society Museum was closed and the sea life conservatory had an age limit that Callie did not meet, so we drove around the quaint town and headed for the beach. We climbed out on some rocks and Callie dictated whose turn it was to splash their foot in the water. It was a fun game for all and we got a lot of good pictures from it. The area was lovely and we dreamed of living there and having a light house of our own thinking that might be an easy job, and you get to live in a great house. This is 
the one we picked out. The next day we took the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard. Only a 30 min ride from Falmouth. Deciding that we would rather be outside and get some exercise than take the long bus tour of the island, we rented bikes. Callie, resistant at first, did not like leaving her stroller and blanket behind for a carriage and helmet. After telling her she was in Cinderella's carriage, the helmet was her crown, and promising ice cream she soon changed her tune. We had a beautiful 6 mile bike ride (12 miles round trip) out to Edgartown where the famous Jaws was filmed. We ate ice cream and headed back. We found a beautiful quiet beach and spent a few hours letting Callie have her mermaid moment for the day. She could have stayed there forever splashing around in the frigid water. She
is so timid about most things but very brave when it comes cold water. The last hour or so before our ferry was to leave we rode around Oak Bluffs. There were beautiful Victorian mansions, and cottages all adorned with grill work, turnings, and painted in fantastic colors. We had dinner in the harbor at this sandy little bar and grill. It was about as much as Callie could handle, she wanted back in her carriage. In order to get close to our next vacation spot we drove to Salem, MA, and stayed in a noisy hotel. Then our adventure took us to Ogunquit ( pronounced "a-gun-quit," emphasis on the second syllable). Our hotel there was a beautiful resort called the Milestone. This location may have been my favorite because of the nice accommodations we had; heated pool, spa, shuffle board, and Bath and Body Works soaps. This was also the first hotel we did not have to wear our flip flops in the shower. The best part was it was discounted to $90 from $250. We were in walking distance to the Ogunquit beach. A gorgeous beach with yards of smooth sand slightly sloping to the water, and miles of coast line. We felt we had the beach to our selves. Callie again desiring to trade her feet for flippers had a blast playing in the cold water. We made a sand castle, played a little Frisbee, and ran from the gentle waves. The most memorable moment was when Callie for no apparent reason started chasing "Scuttle" (a seagull about 50 yards away). As she ran to him he dropped his lunch and flew away. Callie proceeded to pick up his meal to give to him. To her horror it was a live crab. "Oh, scary!," she screamed while dropping him on the beach. We caught a video of the after reaction as we explained it was "Sebastian" (a crab), and that Scuttle was eating Sebastian. She laughed as her dreams of the happy Edenic lifestyle of critters from "The Little Mermaid" were dashed. From then on she sat on a towel and pointed to all the divots in the sand saying "Oh, scary mama!," thinking a crab may be hiding in our innocent foot print. So we left the beach and took a coastal walk on the "Marginal Way," foot path. We stopped at Prego's Italian Cafe for a delicious lunch and pastry (Callie slept soundly in the stroller). Strolling along rocky bluffs and scenic vistas we decided
that this was our favorite spot on the trip. The town was pristine with white wash resorts, upscale shops, and 4-5 star restaurants and cafes. We even took a little dip in the spa before dinner. It was Heaven until our tired bunch went to dinner at the Beachfire bar and grille. Daddy and Callie nearly had a melt down. Not because we were too close to the beach fire, but the atmosphere was nice and Callie sitting by Daddy was not behaving very nicely. With this Daddy concluded this is why his parents, having 7 kids, never went out to eat or on vacation. The next day we drove around some local towns and neighborhoods then headed home having had our fill of the New England Coast. Once home we immediately called the Collings who came over to play games. Our history of playing games with the Collings has been trying for Cameron. Most of the games are Collings dominated while I have had a fair share in the winnings. Earlier last week we discovered Cameron was a natural at speed Scrabble, his first in a personal winning streak series. Saturday was a good ego booster. Cameron's team won every time. Making him the ultimate winner of the evening. Oh, we forgot to mention we had a casualty on the trip. Sadly Snow White, Callie's most beloved princess, was decapitated. We have had several surgeons try to refasten the head with no success. Callie now pulls her out of her purse and laughs "Oh funny, Snow White."
No, we are not talking about Dustin Hoffman, and his seedy cross generational affairs. Our own distinguished Graduate is the one and only Daddy who can now extend his name wi
th the three meaningful letters, MAR. What does this mean exactly? Great accolades, great fortunes, great honours as being the only ivy leaguer in the family? Although Cameron deserves all this credit, in my world as the Mama, this means FREEDOM! I don't have to do all the dishes, laundry, Callie watching, and cleaning. Oh Joy! My partner is back. We really are proud of him. He has accomplished much and worked so hard. But, in a way I feel this is just as much my accomplishment as his. He may get the degree and all the pomp and circumstance of a graduation. I too feel as though this is my graduation. We certainly have sacrificed a lot to meet this goal. We had a crew of visitors come to support this grand event in our lives. Bill, Karen, Alicia, Billy, Braden, Kaytlin, and Alyssa crammed into 
our tiny apartment like sardines, and were lucky to acquire an empty apartment for the parents and Alyssa. With all the excitement and sites to see we really slept little, ate much and talked constantly. I think many of us are still recovering from our 3:30 AM chat. What did we show everyone? We took some to the park that has farm animals and peacocks, then to Wentworths ice cream. We went to two days worth of graduation services. The best by far was the whole school one on Old Campus. It was chock full of tradition and formalities. Deans would bow to the President of the school and present the candidates for each degree, then the President would concur with a response and acceptance of the degrees granted. The portion for PHD candidates was offered in Latin. The diploma given to Cameron is also in Latin. The Divinity graduation was full of religious music, African drums, and religious dogma, or what I have been calling "apostate preaching." :) I guess the talks were not that bad just a little long for Callie. The last day the family was here we went to Light House Point park. The local beach. It is great for the kids, because it has a water park, playground, carousel and snack stand. But, after going to Hammonasset this past Saturday we realized it is not as beautiful of a beach. Hammonasset was true New England style. Beautiful wetlands, rocks where kids were catching crabs, and freezing cold water. We are very proud of our own little mermaid. She was enthralled with the crabs and the kids catching them, and she loved going in the water so much after an hour of numb legs and soggy diaper we had to bribe her to leave. It was a great relaxing day at the beach and a great way to finish our week. I just have to add a thank you to all the family who came to visit, and all the ones we know would have come if they could. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing everyone soon.
much stuff, and living in a disaster zone. We did manage to fit in a few fun things. As an early Father's Day gift, Callie and I gave Cameron tickets to the Yankees vs. Diamondbacks game. So Tuesday night we along with the Collings family, trucked it to NYC, where we parked and road the subway into Yankees stadium. With traffic, a down pour of rain, a few potty breaks, and a slight subway mix up, I really thought we were never going to make it. We arrived to the stadium 1 hour late. To o
ur surprise the game was in the first inning. We had a great time! Callie had been waiting for it all day, and she really enjoyed it. She and Julia were clapping and dancing the whole game. Ever since she has been talking about the "soccer/basketball/baseball" game. Sadly our beloved Diamondbacks lost. The only other truly eventful day was Saturday, feeling the urge to exercise I woke up and went down to the ward ultimate Frisbee game. I was discouraged to find out that I was the only girl and was ready to turn back. The teams however were uneven so they begged me to stay so everyone could play. It was a fun morning I came back energized and ready to work only to find Callie in her PJ's and Cameron still in bed. Later that night, the Buehner's had a dinner party that would please any appetite. They really went all out with a variety of options, Salmon, shrimp, chicken, steak. Who has time to make all of that and watch twin boys? The Buehner's are amazing. I am glad we got to visit with so many of our friends. We are going to be sad to leave all our friends here, but know we will keep in touch with many, and hear about
others in the world news as they win Nobel Prizes, win seats on the Supreme Court, and become Apostles in the Church :). Sunday I said a sobbing goodbye to all my Young Women. I really have learned a lot from them, and love them all individually. Some of the circumstances they come from are unimaginable. I know they are all choice spirits who can conquer their challenges and will become leaders in the community, in the church, and in their homes. 
