Family Update

I try to update this weekly with the hope that I will someday get this compiled into a book. This really is the closest thing I have to an updated journal of all of our family happenings and the cute things my kids do and say. These past few weeks have been really quiet. We have had a lot of rain and have spent most of our time at home. I usually try to keep the kids busy, but have been feeling increasingly tired with this pregnancy. I assume the kids would rather have a happy mom at home than a frazzled one trying to play super-mom. That super-woman will return again soon I hope. In the meantime, I think quiet is okay. My kids love mealtimes, baths and toys and more than anything, love having my attention. I have been trying to enjoy the simplicities of our days and my children's funnies and quirks. Noelle has developed her imagination and can play for house for hours and Corom loves to tag along. It is fun to watch them interact, though Corom has a really high pitched screech when he gets frustrated. I have to learn how to tame it. Dan is coming out of a week of interning at the State Mental Hospital in Provo. He says it was quite eye-opening. I don't think this is the direction he will go, but a good opportunity nonetheless.He is back in school for 2 more weeks and then we will have him home for a month to prepare for the baby. (Wow-huh?) We are in search of a good baby boy name. I have searched high and low and haven't found anything that I want to name a child. HELP! If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to pass them our way! I'll try to post some pictures for the family. I am not very good at capturing these little guys who move so quickly.

Discovery

So I think that I have officially discovered 2 of the hardest messes to clean up. My clumsy pregnant hands keep dropping things.

First I dropped a big glass bottle of OLIVE OIL. Yup, you read that right! I don't know what was worse, the glass that shattered into a million tiny pieces or the rich oil that does not like to be soaked up. I thought this one took the cake until I....

Spilt a whole container of Raspberry Ice Crystal Light powder all over the kitchen. It is quite simply red dye. My hands are red, the towels are red, my counter is now pink. AHHHHH!

Now can someone explain to me why my hands don't seem to work when I'm pregnant????

The Long Bike Ride...

We are so proud of Dan for finishing the 104 mile Tour De Cure (Diabetes) Ride in Brigham City today. This is really his first year of road biking and today was his first organized ride! The kids and I cheered him on at the finish line. It's 8:00 and he's already crashed for the night. I think that says it all! Thanks to all those who sponsored- such a good cause! 

Our Week

It has been a really quiet and rainy week. It took a few days of rain before I finally settled into a good routine of being inside again all day with the kids. Since Monday, the kids and I have entered into this magical zone of creativity and play that could only be brought about by being cooped up inside a tiny apartment. I wish I could list all of the imaginative play that Noelle has produced this week. She has played camping, gymnastics teacher, pregnant mommy, mommy, chef, built blanket forts, played playdough, colored, played with dress ups... I am usually so busy trying to keep the kids busy that this creativity is muffled. Corom just goes along with whatever Noelle is doing. (Usually trying to pull toys away) I look forward to the sunshine returning, but in the meantime, it has been nice to enjoy some quiet time with my children. Noelle and I even sewed the baby-to-be a quilt today while Corom took an almost 4 hour nap. (Woo-Hoo!) We are 26, almost 27 weeks. I feel like we have approached the countdown. With Dan in summer school and vacation time planned, I think the remainder of the pregnancy is going to fly! Hope you all had a great week too!

Noelle performed this week at her Summer Gymnastics Show! We love, love, love the program that she is in! 

Dress up time!

I finally threw this box away tonight after the kids have been sitting in it and fighting over it for the last 2 days. Who needs fancy toys when you can play with a box?

Little Mommy Noelle- a little more hip than her own mom!

Funnies of the week...

Noelle and I were talking at bedtime the other night. She was feeling the baby kick and asking all sorts of questions. What is his name going to be? When is he going to come out? Who is going to take him out? and finally....

"How is the baby going to come out?" I wasn't sure how I wanted to respond so I said, "I don't know. What do you think?" She answered, "First the doctor is going to clean your tummy with the soap that doesn't have any bubbles and then the doctor will use his scissors to cut the baby out." "Hmmmmm," I responded. That seemed to answer her question and she moved on to her next topic. I'm sure it will come up again as we get closer and she'll want more details.

Today we were going over the Ensign, which is our monthly church magazine. I was pointing to the church leaders and naming them by name. "These are the quorum of apostles," I explained. She looked up at me and said, "The Torum of Popsicles?" (She calls Corom Torum) Ha! Ha! The mind of a 3 year old!

We are a Happy Family....

Lately our family has seemed to come to life again after a grumpy winter's hibernation. (Well, speaking for myself at least) We are singing more, enjoying the sunshine, staying up later, I'm attempting to cook more, read more, laugh more... you get the idea. I was driving in the car yesterday and singing at the top of my lungs to a CD and looked back to find Noelle and Corom dancing along. "This is the life," I thought to myself. What a happy bunch we have been lately. I have been thinking about what the difference could be. I realized quickly that it is me...my attitude and mood that affect my family. Happiness for me is a choice and I have chosen lately to be more pleasant to be around and it seems to really rub off on my kids. We have been having so much fun! It is has been a busy week. Here are some of the highlights...enjoy!

We have completed a year of co-op preschool. Here we are last night at our year-end show and party. The kids performed all that they have learned this year. So cute! 

Our little preschool girl with Holly

I was changing my sheets and the kids got a hold of my down comforter. They played with it for entire morning!

What a great feeling-rolling around on a feather blanket!

Memorial Day Fun!

What a fun weekend we had! Two of Dan's classmates are married to sisters. The families invited us to vacation with them at their cabin in Scofield for the weekend. (Central Utah in the mountains above Price) Yup, the cabin is in the middle of nowhere, but a very, very gorgeous nowhere! It was the first time that either of us had gone south of Provo, so we were excited to explore the vast farm lands and then beautiful mountain landscapes that are so different then Salt Lake. As we approached the cabin we tackled the muddy roads and had some fun seeing what our car was capable of. We enjoyed a weekend of good company, relaxation, church in a little tiny mining town and four-wheeler rides through the muddy trails. It is so refreshing to get away. It really just lit a traveling fire inside of me. I'm eager to explore our surroundings! (Before the baby comes and we are home for awhile) We ended the trip by taking a drive down to Manti to see the temple. As you approach Manti, you drive into an old farm town with an amazing temple located on a hill. I guess it was completed before the Salt Lake temple, making it one of the 3 oldest temples in Utah. Hope you all had an opportunity to play and relax as well!

Noelle on the grounds of the Manti Temple

Corom loved being outside. This one is also taken at the temple

Taken at Electric lake. Yup, I am looking really pregnant!

SOOOO FUN!

I am bummed we didn't get a picture of when all four of us went for a ride. Corom fell asleep on my back as Dan and Noelle drove. I now have an ATV on my wish list!

Is this not the most gorgeous temple that you've ever seen? The sky was so blue and it appeared to be just barely over head. It is so much of how I picture heaven looking like! And to think it rises above a small farming community!