Okland Christmas Party 12.16.15

This year's Okland Christmas party was held at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. 

Supposedly it is a beautiful venue...but it was so cold and dark out that I honestly have no idea if it's even that great; except we did see these cool glass sculpture things. So it's probably a cool place when it's not FREEZING out.  

After mingling with Tyler's co-workers and eating dinner, they started announcing anniversary's and awards. 

Okland has 5 core values (see below), and each year they pick and recognize employees who have encompassed these values throughout the year. 

Create Remarkable Experiences

We are passionate about creating remarkable experiences in everything we do. It's not only business...it's personal.
Below are our values. We make decisions by them. Find out how they apply to you.

Be Distinct

Earn Trust With
Every Action

Deliver Value

Be Humble

Create Shared
Success

And guess who won an award???

That's right folks, our very own Mr. Tyler Camp won a core value award! 

Click the link below to read what it means to "Be Distinct"

BE DISTINCT 

Bill Okland (President of Okland) introducing Tyler and explaining why he has been an extraordinary example of 'being distinct' and a great representation of Okland. 

I may be a little biased...but I agreed with all that Bill said, Tyler definitely earned this award! He is so hard working and always makes sure that the owner's are happy with the project.

Tyler is the very best!

Turkey Trot 11.26.15

Tyler and I wanted to jog a Turkey Trot this year, so when his company sent out an email saying that AZ Brain Food (an organization that Okland partners with to help feed hungry elementary students in the Phoenix valley...check them out HERE) was hosting the Gilbert 5K Turkey Trot, we signed right up! 

Thanksgiving morning we drove down to the San Tan Mall where the 3.1 mile race was starting, pinned on our numbers, and jogged our little hearts out!  It was a fun race, but my favorite part was the free churros from the Churro Truck at the end. :) 

Can't wait to run it again this upcoming year! 

New Whip 11.2015

After countless visits to the dealership and waaaaaaaay too much money coming out of my wallet for tune-ups and repairs, we decided it was time to trade in my VW Tiguan for a more reliable vehicle. (a.k.a NOT a German car)

So of course we headed down to Toyota (you can never go wrong with Japanese engineering) and found ourselves this little beaut!

2014 Toyota Corolla Sport

He is still nameless...but i'm hoping a name will come to me eventually.

 I LOVE this car, it handles so well and is fantastic on gas mileage. It's a lot lower to the ground than Tig was, which was a little rough to get used to, but I love it now. It is so fun to zip around town in this bad boy, he is an excellent addition to our family. ;)

Thanks for all the memories Tig, you will be missed but only a little. 

RIP

Hello, It's me

Blogging world! 

(a.k.a. what's up Camp family?!)

It's been a while, huh? My bad. Life is busy and blogging get's thrown on the back-burner. But I'm back!! And with so much to blog about. So buckle up and get ready for a whole lot of throw-backs...

But first, here's a cute photo of me and Tyler. 

You're welcome. :)

Happiest place on earth

Tyler and I decided a little get-away was very much needed for the two of us...so this week we found ourselves at the happiest place on earth! With fall break for many schools this week, the crowds were heavy but not nearly as bad as I thought they would be. We were still able to ride everything that we wanted to, and even hit California Screamin' and Space Mountain multiple times. It was so nice to just take our time and wander around the parks, enjoying our time together. I am so grateful for Tyler and all the hard work that he puts in to providing for us! Thanks Tyler!! :)

 

 

Happy Fall y'all!  

Trekin'

On Saturday Tyler and I were blessed to help out with the activities portion of our stake's youth Pioneer Trek. In all honesty, neither of us were very stoked to be going. There were many conversations about why we didn't want to go, and how silly the whole thing was...but as soon as we got there and watched the kids pull in to camp after a long night and morning of pulling their hand carts, we were quickly humbled. 

On our way up to Heber, Saturday morning

There were 10 different stations that lasted 20 minutes each: 

PIONEER RING

 (Have you ever seen those rings that are made out of a nail? I guess they do them in Nauvoo. They had some sort of contraption that bent the nails into a ring, and each kid got to make their own.)

SHOE KICK

HATCHET THROWING 

POTATO SACK RACES  

STICK PULL 

TUG-O-WAR

ROPE MAKING

WATERMELON EATING / SEED SPITTING

HAIR WASHING

PHOTOBOOTH

(The stake made this incredible back drop for the camp grounds (pictured below). I think it was to keep the kids away from and cover old cattle corrals that were in the camp that they would be staying at for the next two nights. The stake wanted a photo of each family, so they each got their photo taken at this station!)

Two families were at each station, and as they rotated, each went a separate way (clockwise or counter-clockwise) so that all the families were able to interact with each other. Even though they were exhausted from pulling, all of the youth seemed to be in great spirits and enjoy each station.

Tyler and I were over the "Stick Pull" station. (Have you ever played the Joseph Smith stick pull game? You sit facing each other and place your feet against each other, toe to toe. You each grab on to the stick, one person's hands on the inside and one person's on the outside. When someone says "PULL!" you pull as hard as you can on the stick, trying to pull the other person up off the ground or the stick away from their hands.) As soon as we began to interact with the youth, our attitudes quickly changed and we had a wonderful time. On the first round of families, we found that 20 minutes was a long time for just stick pull competitions. Luckily, Tyler had the bright idea to introduce Indian Leg Wrestling. The kids LOVED it, and it was hilarious! The girls were even able to participate if they had leggings or bloomers on under their skirts. I was amazed at some of those girls, and a few of the Ma's! They had tree-trunks for legs, seriously! I need to start doing more squats and lunges apparently! ;) It was a blast to watch the youth challenge each other and their leaders to these two competitions of strength. Tyler and I were cheering and screaming so loud and so much, our throats were raw by the end of the afternoon. It was so worth it. :)

We are so grateful for the opportunity that we had to serve these amazing kids and for the afternoon we got to spend with them! I am humbled and amazed to see all the work that is put into the trek and embarrassed for being such a grump about my simple assignment. We live in a great ward and stake, and are so grateful for the gospel and for our very own ancestor pioneers!! 

Idaho Weekend

This weekend we got to go to Idaho to celebrate the baptism of our cute niece Angie.

We love any opportunity to visit the fam in Idaho, and when those trips include the WHOLE family, we love it even more! With all 4 brothers living in different states, it isn't very often that we get to see each other so these rare moments are cherished. 

Friday was travel day. Tyler and I flew up to Provo, picked up a rental car (our choices ended up being between a mini van or Mustang... needless to say we ended up with a Mustang. I'm not complaining. ;) ) and sped off to Salt Lake to pick up Matt. Three and a half hours later we made it to Rupert! Cody and his family were already there, and later that evening Garrett came down from Boise. We spent Friday afternoon together, just enjoying each other's company! 

Saturday morning was spent outside in the BEAUTIFUL weather helping with yard work. I got to mow the lawn (my very favorite chore! I'm not even kidding... it's my happy place. Judge as you will.) and soaked up every minute of the beautiful weather. Did I mention how beautiful the weather was? ;) Saturday was also Grandpa Camp's birthday. That evening we drove up to Jerome to celebrate. After visiting and playing outside on Grandpa's old tractor, we convinced Javi to let Grandpa cut his hair. (Just what he wanted to do on his birthday, I'm sure. Ha!) Tyler even got lucky enough to get "fergisized", something he has talked about ever since we met. Grandpa Camp's barbering is legendary, and I have to say...I don't think Tyler's hair has ever looked better. Ferg really does have the magic touch!! After hairs were cut, Grandma took Grandpa for a birthday spin in the Mustang. I had no idea, but Grandma Camp is a huge 'stang fan! Another fun fact about Grandma...she makes THE BEST cinnamon rolls I've ever had. (Sorry mama...but don't worry, I still love your rolls too.) It was so fun to see Grandpa in action and watch the smile on Grandma's face as she drove off in that car. Family is so great! 

 Javi wasn't so sure about that tractor when Grandpa turned it on...I don't blame him, it was pretty loud!

 After Javi sat in Grandpa's chair he agreed to let him cut "just a little bit". :)

 Nerea wanted to try too!

Ty's turn!  

 Next up...Stacey!

 Nea and Uncle Garrett

 My beautiful sister-in-law

 Going for a birthday spin!

Nea wanted to take Javi for a spin too

 The family isn't complete without Noon dog!

Sunday morning Terry and I managed to convince everyone to roll out of bed bright and early for family photos. Like I mentioned before, we don't get to see each other often enough, so I figured when we are together I WILL get a photo. I'm so lucky the Camps love me. :) After church and a delicious lunch, we got ready for the big event of the weekend! Family and a few close friends gathered at the church to support cute Angie. Terry spoke on baptism and the importance of taking on and representing the name of Christ, and Flor spoke about the Holy Ghost. Both were beautiful talks and the spirit was felt. Cody did a great job baptizing Angie, she made it all the way under on the first shot! (I always get nervous a toe is going to float up. Ha!) After, we gathered back home for Flan & Tres Leches and boy-oh-boy was it delish! Flor is an amazing chef. The rest of the evening was spent chatting with the family, then Tyler and I got to take Grandma & Grandpa Reed & Amy home, and visit with them for a bit longer. Grandpa is a professional photographer, so he was giving me tips and tricks for lighting. I couldn't soak up all the information fast enough! I can't wait to get back up there so he can teach me to shoot film. We sure have a talented family!

Ladies...they're single. :)

Seriously, have you ever seen such beautiful kids?!

 Grandma Reed taking the boys for a ride on her new set of wheels! 

 Aunt Amy loves dogs, and Noon loves Aunt Amy! It was so cute to watch her with him, if only Noon could sit still for two seconds so I could get a photo in focus! Darn Noon!

Family photo with the Reeds

Monday was another travel day. After dropping Matt off at the SLC airport and nearly missing our flight out of Provo, we made it back to this hot desert we call home. It was such a pleasure spending time with everyone, we wish it could have lasted a few more days. We are so blessed to be a part of this amazing family, and are so grateful that families get to be together forever! 

Being a Camp is pretty special, and I sure feel lucky Tyler picked me to share his last name. :)