Happy Anniversary Honey!

I don't know how Shane did it, but we had a perfect 13th anniversary. I told him not to plan anything because I'm ready to deliver at any minute, and nothing is fun to me right now. He took the day off work. We went to lunch with the kids (because they felt that they needed to celebrate with us). I took a nap and when I woke up the babysitter was there. We went to the temple, and then got takeout at Bombay House (he wanted to go somewhere nicer, but I wanted spicey food just in case it would put me in labor-it didn't). We watched the sunset while we ate. Then it was getting late, and almost time for the babysitter to go home, and we took our last hour just walking around Sugar House Park. It probably sounds a little boring, but it was perfect. Usually we try to do exciting things like swimming with the sharks, hot air balloon rides, going somewhere fun, but this year I needed something just like this. Thanks Shane. I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend, the day couldn't have been more perfect. I love you!

Foreshadowing

OK, so still no excuse for my bad blogging, other then I'm tired. As of yet, no baby! The kids are actually asleep, I have the dishwasher running, and the laundry going, so I have no excuse but to do a quick update. Of course things are busy, summer always is. Joshua has gotten so good at riding his bike this summer, that Elizabeth wanted to join in the fun. In Europe the kids start riding bikes at age 2 (my brother Johnny and his wife Nicky taught us this). They just give the kids bikes without pedals, that way they feel a lot more comfortable when it actually comes time to try riding. Shane found a place in Utah that sells them. Here is Lizzy riding her bike. She loves it, and rides it almost every day.

Well Elizabeth was potty trained before we left for Europe, and then refused to go after we got back. She kept telling me she was a baby and wanted her diapers. So a few weeks after we got back we started the potty training. We took her to Build a Bear and showed her all of the things she could get if she got potty trained. So over the next few week we worked really hard at potty training, without too much pressure. Well after she had clean underwear for a whole week we all went to Build a Bear. Sarah and Joshua had a blast. When Lizzy picked what she wanted it was two small dinosaurs that she didn't ever get to stuff, oh well, she was happy with them.

So since I am so pregnant, I am exhausted all of the time. One day I put Elizabeth down for a nap, told Sarah and Joshua to play quietly, and laid down to take a nap. I started hearing this banging sound, and got up to investigate. For their quiet activity, Sarah and Joshua found a box and decided to ride it down the stairs. At first I was a little angry, since we just got the walls downstairs painted, but then I had to laugh since they decided that they were going to be safe and wear their bike helmets, and had a pile of blankets and pillows at the bottom.


I was so proud of them that they would be so safe without me even having to tell them. Wellllllllllll....
This last week we went boating with Shane's family at Jordan L (since my doctor won't let me go more then a 50 mile radius from the hospital), and we stayed up in Park City. I woke up early on Tuesday and headed down to SLC to my doctor appointment. Just as I was leaving the doctors I got a phone call from Shane. Joshua and his cousin Dayton were climbing up the rock wall. Joshua jumped 8 feet onto the cement sidewalk (without any shoes on). He couldn't walk on either foot, so Shane was taking him down to TOSH to get x-rays. They thought there was a possible break, on his feet, but they couldn't tell. They wrapped the one that was the worst and sent him home on crutches. Well one week later, I got to take him back, get x-rays, just to find out that both feet were broken. The one that hurts the worst is in a blue cast, and the one that doesn't hurt as much has a boot. He has to stay off it for another 2 weeks, and then he can walk on it for another week before they take off the cast. Just what a mom needs to deal with before having a baby. At least he has crutches so we don't have to carry him around. It hasn't slowed him down a bit. Today I saw him on the swing set hanging on the top bar, trying to swing on the chains like Tarzan. I couldn't help but to laugh. I love my kids.

Life is Good:)

Whatever!

So my doctor is going to induce me on September 2, that is only a few days early. Any suggestions on ways to go into labor. Everyone knows that I get desperate in the end, how many times did I drink Caster Oil with Lizzy? I think I might have to try squats.

Shane thinks my belly is obscenely huge!

So my belly is huge! The other day I told Shane that my belly is so huge that I'm having a hard time getting around, I bump into everything. I don't remember it ever being this big with any other pregnancy. Shane started to laugh. I asked him why he was laughing. He goes on to say that he thinks it is too, he just didn't want to be the one to bring it up, in fact he thinks it so so obscenely huge that it looks fake. He's never seen anything quite like it. I told him I got the point and that he could stop, but he still couldn't stop laughing. Well I went onto utube and typed in pregnant bellies. I don't feel so bad.


OK, I swear I don't usually nest, but this is ridiculous. So over the last few weeks I've made three batches of raspberry freezer jam (usually one batch gets us through the winter), I've picked up the hobby of making homemade bread (I actually grind all of my own flour), I've made homemade peach ice cream twice, I've gone through all of the baby clothes organizing them (size, age, gender), I've washed every sheet, blanket, towel, and clothing article I could find. I've been dusting in places I've long forgotten, had the basement recarpeted, reorganized the files, taxes, business papers, trust information, wills (in case something happens to me, I need Shane to know where things are). Wow, I'm tired.

Quick note, Lizzy's funny comment today. She is worried what the baby is wearing in my belly. I told her it was naked, so she brought me some of her dolls clothes to put on it. Next thing I know, all of her dolls are naked, just like baby. This could get interest.

This summer is flying by

Well, I realized that my last post was when we got back from Europe. Things have been crazy. When we left for Europe, Elizabeth was potty trained, when we returned, she refused to go unless it was in her diaper. Potty training is not fun to me, so this was not a good sign. Since we have been back we have been working with her. She has gone for a few days without any accidents, so we think we are there. Shane has had last week off, and since my doctor said he thinks one of the discs are slipping in my back (that is why it has been so painful), we needed to try to stay close to home. On the first day we took the kids to the Children's Discovery Museum. They had a blast. We sat outside the grocery store and water area for about an hour and a half while the kids were playing. Elizabeth spent all of her time taking vegetables from the store and washing them off in the water, she wanted everything clean. Suddenly Shane and I looked at her, her legs were spread apart, and she was leaning down watching pee run down her leg. Shane and I started laughing so hard, that neither of us could do anything to help her out. She just kept cleaning vegetables and the only thing that was different was that she was walking funny. We were wondering what would happen if we just pretended we didn't know her, until her pants dried. I finally took her into the bathroom and got her cleaned up, but she hasn't wet her pants in public again.

The kids have started taking tennis lessons from their awesome cousing McKenzie. They have been having a lot of fun with that. Since we have a tennis court just down the street, we have been spending a lot of time there.

Our neighborhood party that we had July 23rd was a lot of fun. We are happy that it is no longer hanging over our heads that our whole neighborhood and ward would be in our backyard. We got to a point that we couldn't weed or prune any more. Shane actually took a day off work just to try to get our trees and bushes under control. Toward the end of the day, a lady down the street came over and commented on what a great job he had done, and asked him if she paid him if he could come do her yard. The thing that is funny, is that she thought he was the hired help. We hadn't met her before.

Another thing that happened this last week that was really funny. At church, Joshua's teacher had a fabulous lesson on sharing, she taught them about Jesus having the boy feed the 5000 with 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread. After she told the story, she asked for a volunteer to have the fish and bread. Of course Joshua volunteered, he loves her homemade bread. After she gave him a bag of fish crackers and a whole loaf of bread for his very own, she asked him to share it with the class. He thought about it for a second and said no. After the class was begging, telling him how hungry they were, he finally said, "All right, you can have the fish, but I'm taking the bread home". She had the kids go into sharing time and told them to come back into class before they left to go home, and maybe Joshua would change his mind." Then she came and told me what happened. Of course I told Joshua that he needed to share with his class and he could have a great treat when we went home. Without a beat, he asked what the treat would be. I told him it doesn't matter, he had to share. So with a very unwilling heart he shared with his class. As soon as church was over, his cute little teacher brought Joshua his very own loaf of bread. He was right, it is delicious!

Well, I have just over a month to go. It is passing pretty quickly. On one hand I want it to be here, but on the other hand, that is the same time that the kids start school. So I am just trying to enjoy the next few weeks.

Adventures in Europe

12 days in Europe with all of my siblings, their spouses, and my Dad and his wife Nancy, what a blast. I was a little worried before we left that we all may not be speaking by the end of the trip, but no worries, I think we all came back a closer family.

We all met in Paris. That is where the adventure began. Our shuttle didn't show up, so we had to take the train and walk about 6 block dragging our bags behind us. While we were finding directions to our hotel, one of the ladies started to laugh and said that the street name that were were staying at translated to the Street of Naughty Men. Yes, I booked our hotel in the gay district. It wasn't so bad taking a shower in front of the large clear glass windows when you know no one is trying to peak in. We went to the Arc du Triumph, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and a million other places. We climbed every step in the city.


We flew out to Munich, took a bike tour (went through the naked part of the English gardens--Embarressing), took a tour to Fussen to see the castles Neuschwanstein and Linderhoff, went on a tour of Dachau (the concentration camp), and of course ate a lot of brats and Kraut.

We flew out to Amsterdam. Saw more churches, windmills, and my favorite the Van Gogh museum. We ate the delicacy of the Netherlands raw herring (fish), no it doesn't taste like sushi.

The Boys went first. Their reaction wasn't very encouraging.



The girls took a turn, it wasn't much better. We smelled like we had been feeding seals.

All in all it was a great trip. The sleeping (or lack of it-Brian and Lara's snoring), Matt's warm yellow apple juice, churches, stairs, blisters, Blakes enema and teething, Lisa getting stuck on the Metro, McDonalds (yuck), showering in the dark in Paris, Urinals in the middle of the street (and people actually using them), hairy guys in tight green suits dancing around, naked men in the park, paying for toilets, and of course water for dinner costing over 100 Euro ($150 US dollars). Family, I already miss you, and can't wait for the next one. Please lets just do it when I'm not pregnant.

I love you Sarah!

Well, Sarah has turned 8. It is hard to believe that she is that old. Watching her in Hawaii, I realized that she is very determined to do things, and she is becoming an amazing young lady. It is fun to watch her. In Hawaii she was struggling a little with boogie boarding, but she wanted to do it, because mommy enjoys it. Towards the end, we couldn't get her off the waves.


We had her birthday a week early. She put the party together exactly how she wanted it. It was an "enchanted birthday". She even came up with the design for the cake, that I just had to make for her. We made poison carmel apples that all of the girls got to decorate, we had to find the cockroaches to help clean, and we even did a scavenger hunt to find the prince. Joshua didn't like having to hand each of the girls their own tiarra, but he loved his prince outfit.

Sarah also did a great job with her pet chicken, Pearl, that she got to keep for about 7 weeks (of course we were in Hawaii for 3 of those weeks). While I was in Europe with my mom, Shane signed the permission slip for Sarah to be one of the 4 lucky kids to keep the class pet chicks. Sarah had to change the water a few times daily, feed it, clean out the cage, and play with it daily.