Second Week of May

We had a fun filled weekend.  Friday, I totally forgot it was Cinco De Mayo, but we met up with my parents and went to this little Mexican restaurant in Farmington called Francisco's.  I recommend it!   

We also took a hike up Baer Creek in Fruit Heights.  I used to be able to jog up this trail in the late fall, now I could only hike one mile and had to turn back around :(  I love this picture below.  Not because I look great, but because Winston's head is so large in it, and look at that little grin.  

Saturday, we went down to Orem to spend some quality time with the Killpack's.  We visited Grandma and Grandpa Killpack.  They have a very large garden and Grandma told McKay he could take some of their raspberry bushes.  He also dug up some iris's and some other plants.  You should have seen the back of our car.  There was no room for Winston because it was full of plants.  McKay and his plant obsession, that's why I love him.  

Yesterday, Tuesday May 8th, was my little brother's 16th birthday.  I can't believe he is 16.  This freaks people out when I tell them, but I witnessed Cameron being born.  All I remember that it was messy and kind of scary (much to look forward to in August).  Here's a little about my little brother Cameron.

What defines Cameron is two words, Asperger's Syndrome. If you're not familiar, it's a high functioning form of Autism.  He's very computer smart and has a very big imagination.  He enjoys playing PS3, drawing comic book style cartoons and making up crazy stories to go along with it, and he has about four things he will eat: pizza, cheese sandwiches, anything fried, and oreos.  I wish I had his long lean body, don't know where he got that from.  He keeps telling my parents he's not ready to drive yet because he doesn't want to kill anyone.  You got to give him kuddos for being honest.  

What I love most about my little brother is despite the trials and struggles he has, he is extremely brave, very spiritual, and has a very sweet and sensitive side.  He has a deep love for animals.  When we had to put our cat Marley to sleep four years ago; he would climb up my parents back yard (their backyard is a mountain) and go visit Marley's grave everyday.  To this day he still gets emotional when we talk about Marley.  He's very protective of animals, especially of the dumb dumbs (Molly and Maisie).  

When he was eight years old my parents decided to put him in a school that was especially for autistic children.  He attended this school and did really well.  When he turned 13 he told my parents he didn't want to go to that school anymore because the kids who attended school there weren't good influences and wanted to go to a normal school.  My parents were scared because of him being "socially awkward" they thought he would struggle with kids being rude and judgmental towards him.  There was a lot of change he had to experience by going to a new school, but he still was determined to be as normal as he could.  If you don't know, change in general is extremely hard for kids who have Asperger's.  He went to Centerville Junior High for ninth grade and excelled.  He had 3.9 GPA but still struggled to make friends.  Thank heaven for kids in my parents ward who reached out to him.  Now he's a sophomore at Viewmont High School and is still doing great.  He's been on the high honor roll every semester.  I ask him if there's any cute girls at school and he tells me there is and that is pretty much it.  In all of the pictures I have of him; he always looks like he's mad, but I've just come to accept that's how he is and I love him for it.           

My younger sister Caitlin left this morning to be an Au Pair for a family and their two kids in Germany for three months.  I'm going to miss her, but am mostly excited for her because she will be traveling with this family all over Europe for their summer vacation.  She will get back on August 23rd which is my due date.  I gave her a big hug last night and told her this might be the last time she'll see my baby bump.  I found this picture of my two sisters and I at the Turkey Leg 5K we did on Thanksgiving morning.  I heart my sistas.      

For kicks and giggles, I found this picture and thought I would post it for Mother's Day.  Mommy I love you!

One thing I did with Caitlin and my Mom this week was make freezer jam.  Yum.