We're now officially in Boston...

For those of you who were wondering what we're doing... :) here's an update! On January 5th, we came to Boston to start a new era, a cold one, in our life! :) We've been here 3 weeks already and are very busy trying to get everything organized to live here. We got Tommy into his classes (both online and on campus) and also got him all squared away in the Massachusetts National Guard (which means he'll give them 2 days a month in work). I've been looking for a job and, after sending my resume out to lots of places, am starting to get calls for interviews. So wish me luck!

We live in the big, empty basement of a nice family. We are looking for other housing, however, and that has also taken up a lot of our time. We're looking in all areas, and trying to decide where is best to live. Boston and surrounding area is pretty darn big.

This week it became more apparent than ever that we are on the east coast. I went to Wal-Mart to grab a couple things and Tommy requested tortillas, believing he had already bought some at the same store. I got the bread, milk, chips, etc. and then couldn't find tortillas. When I asked a store worker if they had any, she said, "WHAT?" I repeated, "Tortillas" and she asked "What are tortillas?" I started to describe them to her, and she said, "Oh, you mean chips." I explained everything and described them well--big, round, white... and she still had no idea what I was talking about. So I went and asked someone else. I got the same kind of reaction and the same result of "oh, you're talking about chips--that is what they're called." No... not chips. I pointed to the two bags of chips I had, and said I already had some of those. I described them again and she yelled to the first woman I had already asked, and they consulted with one another and decided I must need the big ones that are like chips--hard (they meant taco shells). I repeated that no, they are soft, not hard. So they yelled to a new person. That person had no idea either, but then concluded that, no, they must have no tortillas there. It was a rather weird experience. I felt almost like they might feel if I had no idea what a hamburger is or what bread is. Bizarre.

The other welcome to Boston is when we got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get somewhere at 11 a.m. We've seen that can happen at any time of day, of course. And now we've learned another really important lesson--when there's a Patriots game happening that day, stay at home! We live just a couple miles from the Gillette Stadium, right off the same highway, so it's a battle to drive anywhere on those days! All kinds of people come down here (we're south of Boston) in their big trucks with their big-screen tvs and bbq grills and just tail-gate near the stadium while the game is going on.

It's been fun to see the city and walk around Harvard Square. We plan to do more of that, though, when the weather is nicer! You're welcome to visit in the spring or summer and we'll do that sight-seeing with you! :)

love to you all,
Camie & Tommy

p.s. We love seeing the photos of everyone you've been posting. Also, I'm wondering if nobody was smart enough to help Stella figure out her Red Herring riddle. ?? :)

Happy Birthday to Alli-cat!

Alli, hope you have a fun day. Hopefully we'll get to see you on Sunday for a Super Bowl/Super Alli party. We love you so, so much.

You have to post a picture on this site of your now braces-less smile!

Trip to Bountiful

Last week the kids and I took a little vacation to see Symonie and kids while Matt and Aki worked and worked and worked. It was fun to see Satchy and Nina on their own turf and Makai and Ame were so glad to have someone to play with. It was a much-needed and very nice break; Symonie took such good care of us. Muchas gracias, familia Harris!

Crying for their mommas

Mitchell has pinned several kids in less than 30 seconds and is in tip-top shape for Regionals! (Look at that arch!)
Don't forget to click on the photos to see their rippling biceps

Weighing in at 127 (weighing out at 135)

Good Luck at Regionals Jefferson! Hope you make weigh-ins.

Some "old" pictures :)

Hi Everybody,

I had wanted to post some pictures of my time while living on the institute campus in San Diego, but didn't have the means to do it! So I know these are old now, but thought I would post them anyway since I wanted to put these pictures on for Mom and Dad (and anyone else) to see--especially the ones of "Tomas Santos" or Tom. I don't know if I told you about him, Mom and Dad, but he's the one I loved so much. We worked together in the kitchen there at the institute and were good friends. He was like an angel--so kind. Funny enough, it was probably the best thing that happened to me there--meeting Tom! When I left he told me he would miss me because I was his best friend. :) He's a 74-year-old Filipino man who is still working every day so he can send money to his grandkkids in the Phil. so they can go to school. I had such a good time getting to know him, and learning about his childhood, etc. He was 12 years old when the Japanese and Americans were fighting right in his own village! And when the Bataan Death March happened (we'd recently read "Ghost Soldiers" about the incidents). He has so many interesting stories. Anyway, I found it funny that he loves American soldiers, still, and so had a real fondness for Tommy. He wants us to go stay with him in his house in the Philippines when he "retires" from working in the OHI kitchen! Anyone want to go with us in a year or two?

Anyway, you would love him, too--he reminded me a lot of Grandpa Udall in his old age--shuffling around with his pants hanging over his big shoes.

Here I am working in the garden, which I only did for about 3 weeks at the end of my stay...


Here I am with Winnie, Glenia, and Preciosa--all from the Philippines. We worked in the kitchen every day together for 3 months! Preci has been there 20 years! They were a great bunch.


Here is Tom with Henry (from Tijuana, Mexico)--also a good ol' guy. He whistled so beautifully... and considered food prep an art--he made cut and made everything beautifully.


Here I am with my buddy Tom--he taught me to make "raw corn tortillas" so we did it together every Friday for all the people to have at dinner. My helping him meant it took only 2 hours or so, instead of 4 or 5. He was always so grateful!


Ta da! Perfect corn tortillas, made from fresh corn that we cut off the cob. :)


Finally, and most happily, I got to be with Tommy again!! He picked me up at the KC airport!
But the picture won't post for some reason...

Baby B & S Udall Poll

Hey Everybody! Now that Shay isn't working anymore (as of this Friday), she is going to chronicle our journey into parenthood and beyond on our own blog. For fun, we are doing a poll on the blog. Make your guesses here.... http://www.dieyoudollkinder.blogspot.com . There is a prize for the winner if at least people make a guess!

Happy Birthday to Shayla (yesterday)!

Shayla, hope you had a good day yesterday. Bummer that it was a Monday and you had to go to work. How are you and Brig going to celebrate? Whatever you do, we hope you have fun and relax a bit.

Just over a month to go before you become a momma! Are you any more prepared than you were at Christmas? Good luck with everything. We think about you often.

Mother, we love you

Mother, we do! Heavenly Father has sent us to you! (Whether you like it or not, Mom, we're yours).

And we wish you a very happy birthday. You'll always remember that on your 62nd birthday, you helped welcome hundreds of new missionaries to the MTC…not many people can say that!

I'm sure all your grandkids hope their grandma enjoys today. We're glad you're our mom/grandma. Dad, whatcha gonna do to celebrate?

More Christmas Pics...

Grandpa Barry tells the Christmas story.

Grandma Risa turns it down this year, no circus music this time.

Darton, Ronan, and Jackson experience snow in Utah.

Darton's frog boots were the best (although costly!)

Satchel with Uncle Brig... Satchel is so much cuter!!!

Christmas Vacation - Part 1

I don't think any of these require explanation. Don't forget to scroll down for Parts 2 & 3!

If you want any of these photos, just click on it to make it big, then save it to your desktop by either right-clicking, then choosing "save to desktop" (for a PC), or dragging it to your desktop (for a Mac).

I would love to have other good pictures you have, especially of sledding or the nativity or the karaoke, if you don't mind posting them! Any pictures of Gma and Gpa?

Christmas Vacation - Part 2

Towards the end of our stay when we were all going a little stir crazy, we took most of the kids to an indoor bounce house called "Bouncin' Off the Walls." They had a blast and didn't want to leave.

Sym even got in on the action and took Satchel down the slide.

Christmas Vacation - Part 3

This deserves a post of its own. Uncle Brady and 8 kids in the hot tub…in their undies…below-freezing temps outside. He gave them each $5 if they'd jump out and roll in the snow before getting back in.