My OWN Women's Conference

 For the past 3 years I have headed down to Utah for my yearly re-charge at BYU's Women's Conference. This year though, I decided that being 7 months pregnant, walking all around that huge campus, and sitting in those tiny hard chairs for hours on end wasn't sounding so appealing. I told my friends I wasn't going, I told Nate he didn't need to take the time off and decided I would be content just staying home this year.

Then one of my Boise friends called (who hadn't heard my plans) and told me how EXCITED she was to go to Women's Conference and to spend some time together. Suddenly I realized how BUMMED I was to not be going. I was sitting on the couch starring at the wall when Nate got home and he just looked at me and said. "You NEED to go! You don't have to go to the conference but just go and have some fun with your friends." I have a good man. He knows when I need to get away. He knows how hard it is sometimes to be away from my "support system" here in IF.

He was right. I needed to go. I needed to get some quality girl time in before this baby comes. I miss having such fun, inhibited and crazy friends. I packed up Landon and away we went. Friday I spent the day with my Grandma and my best friend Ash and her sweet girls. We had lunch, went shopping, and hung out for a few hours.

 Landon took this GREAT picture of us! Thanks Lando:

Later that night I met up with my Boise friends for dinner. We did some more shopping and headed to Orange Leaf for some froyo. It was so great to laugh this hard.

Then we went back to Suzy's house. She has the CUTEST puppies in the world! She just bred her first litter of Springer Spaniels. We talked about things everyone learned at conference and stayed up talking and sharing until 4:00am people! I couldn't believe it was so late/early!

Saturday morning Landon and I went over to my mom in laws house and saw a bunch of Nate's family who was in town. His Grandpa, Aunt and Uncle and kids, my sister and brother in law and my tiniest baby nephew! I couldn't get enough of this sweet little guy! 2 months already but he is still smaller then my Dallin when he was BORN!

There is only one thing better than having a nice re-charge weekend with girlfriends....

that would be coming home to a house full of my boys:

Our evil cat.

Monday we had some friends over for family night. We had a quick lesson on Satan's lies. I made a spider web, Dallin colored us a little spider and we brainstormed some ways that Satan tries to trick us and trap us in his "webs of deceit."

The kids really enjoyed it and as soon as we were done we went outside and made some smores for a treat.

It was a really fun night.

My favorite part though was at the end of the night when "Satan's webs of deceit" caught one of our own.

Evil kitty.

One on one

This morning once the boys were off at school Landon and I climbed into bed and talked about what we were going to do today. I love my one on one time with my baby boy and I realized that these days of "just us" are coming to a close quickly. Baby sis will be here in 10 weeks, summer vacation will be here in 4 weeks, and my Landon will be off to kindergarden before I know it.

We decided to have a fun day together. Just the two of us. We started off by heading to the party store to get some things for Landon's 5th birthday next week. 5 years old? Seriously? That was the FASTEST 5 years ever! He decided to follow in his big brother's footsteps and have an army birthday just like Parker did when he turned 5. We got some party supplies and put his invite together.

It was SUCH a beautiful day so we headed on over to the zoo. We picked up some lunch and had a picnic before we went in. We renewed our zoo family pass so we are good to go for the summer. It was so nice walking hand in hand with my little man. We took our time, sat under a tree for awhile and just enjoyed our time together.

After 2 years of going to the zoo, we have NEVER seen the otters until today! We always seem to be there when they asleep or something. We were pretty excited about seeing them to say the least and they were SO cute!

And for documentation purposes:

Almost 30 weeks along. The belly is getting huge. This is going by CRAZY fast. I'm SO not ready!

Pinewood Derby

Yesterday was Pinewood Derby time once more. Actually this was MY very first pinewood derby as I wasn't able to go last year and I never went to either of my brothers races through the years.

Things came together a little bit more SMOOTHLY then they did last year. No wheels falling off right before turn in time, not fights between husband and wife about being prepared. You can read last years adventure here.

We didn't get first BUT we didn't get last! We will take a middle of the pack finish. Dal was happy so we were happy too.

 I was loving that everything was computerized and therefore done QUICKLY.

 Dallin won the award for "Best Design." Not bad, not bad at all!

 So Nate, how are you feeling about knowing next year you get the opportunity to make not ONE pinewood cars but TWO?

 Probably better get started next month.

And on a completely unrelated story, THIS is what we're having for dinner tonight:

YUM!

T-Rex named Sue

 It has been a really long week this week. We did however do a few fun things I wanted to document. 

Landon's preschool class went over to the Dinosaur exhibit (T-Rex named Sue) at the Museum of Eastern Idaho.

 It was a great exhibit. I'm glad we took the time to get over there before it leaves in May. The kids had more fun in the play room then they did anything else. Go figure.

 Even though I didn't go and have no pictures of the day, Parker and Dallin went on a little trip with the Outdoors Club at school. They went on a nature hunt and saw a bald eagle, some deer and even a moose! They were so cute running up to me with their binoculars in tow and telling me about all of the things they saw. I love that they have an appreciation for nature and the outdoors.

Nate was in Utah for a bike race last night and I was feeling really irritated. I wasn't irritated that he was gone, I was just worked up about all sorts of stupid things that seem to be getting under my skin lately. I'm not sure if it is being pregnant or what but I was feeling the need to scream, vent to someone or maybe to just get out of the dumb house. Luckily we needed to sign Parker up for baseball over in Iona so we ventured over there and ended up playing outside until the sun went down. I love Iona. Sitting in the sun, watching the boys play all night was just what the Dr. ordered. I felt so much better when we left.

Me: the pregnant, hormonal, overly emotional, irritable, tired and sore, cranky mom and wife.

 Iona park: where the baseball madness will soon begin!

Staci the CHEAPSKATE.

Saturday I decided to take a little trip over to the good old D.I. I'm not sure why I decided to venture over there. The smell usually grosses me out and 9 times out of 10 I leave empty handed.

For some reason though, this trip to the D.I. has changed my opinion of that AMAZING store.

Wanna see my loot? Yeah, I thought you did.

First off: I found this BRIGHT ORANGE table. I am in the process of sanding it and painting if for baby's room. It will go next to my rocker/recliner with a cute lamp on top. A perfect place to set my books during those 24 hour feedings.

Grand total of table: $3.00

Next we have this lovely UNUSED purse. Tags still attached. I thought it was pretty darn cute...and a major steal of a deal for $2.00.

Next up we have a NASTY brown frame with a picture that was straight out of the 1970's. I ripped the picture out, painted it a lovely white and added some ribbon. Now baby sister has a cute place for all of her cute little flowers and bows! My friend Shannen came over last night and taught me how to make bows and silk flowers....get ready, this girl is going to have a matching bow with EVERY single outfit!
Frame: $1.00

Next up we have some Steve Madden high heels.

I think I'll wait to rock these until after baby gets here. They are a little high, and I seem to be a little off balance with the belly and all.
Shoes: $3.00

And lastly, we have Mr. Dallin.

The handsome Old Navy shirt he is wearing was a lovely $2.00. The perfectly matching tie that I just so happened to come across was a $1.00. S-WEEEEET!

YEEEAH! Love finding deals for next to nothing!

And here are a couple of other shots of my boys from last Sunday:

Watch out! Parker was in ONE BAD mood Sunday morning! Hence the death glare at the camera. That kid CANNOT be nice unless he gets a good nights sleep. Luckily he fell asleep at church and got a little bit of a nap in before he went to his class. Don't mess with the sleep deprived P-man. Yikes!



Blessings

Just got back from our 4th ultrasound today. I prayed and prayed on the way to the Dr. office that this baby would just SHOW US HER STOMACH already! The internet can be such a bad thing when you are starting down panic, unknown, and unclear roads. I already made the appointment with the high risk doctors for next month just in case the stomach was MIA again.

Luckily though, she came through. Her stomach was full of fluid today and easy to see. Prayers answered.

AND we got to see her darling little face:

How is it even possible that I am already so smitten and so incredibly in love with this tiny face? Can it just be summer already please so I can kiss those cheeks? I can hardly stand it!

No more ultrasounds for us. And I am A-OK with that!

We had a special weekend. My baby brother received his mission call! We face-timed in so we could watch him open the letter.

Dear Elder Rock,



You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Denver Colorado North Mission.


You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 25, 2012. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.


We are so excited for Jason and for this wonderful experience that he will embark on. He is a great brother, and example to our boys. We will sure miss him while he is gone but are excited for the learning and growth he will experience. He will also still be here to meet our Little Miss so I am really excited about that! ☺
 
I am also so grateful for my weekly lunch dates with this handsome guy:
 
 

Today's topics of conversation included:
 
"Mom, do you know how to play "poker face" (like the Lady Gaga song) on the recorder?"
 
and
 
"Mom, I think I am ready to retire from preschool. I think I am old enough to move on to big kid school now."

Random posts are the best.

Why are we having such a difficult time coming up with a name for this baby? You'd think after all of these boys we would have a huge list of girl names ready to go alas, nothing is really sticking. At this rate we may just have to go with Landon's suggestion......Crusher. That, or we'll just stick with "baby sis."

Everything is going great with baby except for the fact that we can't seem to visualize her stomach. We've had 2 ultrasounds now and we haven't been able to see the stomach bubble. Apparently in order to see the stomach there has to be some fluid inside. Baby isn't swallowing anything near the time we have had these ultrasounds done. We'll have another ultrasound in a week and if we can't see it again we have to go meet with the "high risk" doctors and find out what is going on. I'm trying hard not to freak out, since bad things happen in multiples and everything else looks perfect. Still, send a prayer our way for Monday. I need the peace of mind.

I managed to keep the glucose test drink down today. I haven't been able to do that with my past 3 pregnancies. That drink is so incredibly NASTY. So glad that is over!

I am so crazy in love with the weather lately. We played at the park today for hours, and came home and played outside some more. Days like this make me so homesick for the park that was across the street from our Boise house. I actually went and did a little house hunting today to make me feel better. Sometimes I can hardly wait to buy another house, sometimes it scares me to death after everything we have been through.

Nate's mom bought Dallin a soccer goal for Christmas and we just barely put it up a couple of weekends ago. The boys play soccer outside every day and have absolutely LOVED it. I love going in the backyard in the evening and watching Nate and the boys play together. Seriously, one of my FAVORITE things in the world.

I mowed the lawn today. 7 months pregnant. Nate is going to be mad when he gets home. My dad would be proud. ☺

Before and After

Before we left for a fun-tastic weekend in Salt Lake, Parker FINALLY agreed that it was time for a nice fresh hair cut. Morning after morning we have fought about his crazy bed head and how he didn't want it combed down or that it hurt too much to get the tangles out. Dad took him to Great Clips, and then out for some fro-yo to soften the blow of the cut. He looks so dang handsome though. I forgot how CUTE that face was was covered under all that hair!

And yes, I told him he could grow it out again this summer if he really wants to. ☺

I took exactly ZERO pictures of our Easter weekend. We went to Utah (yes, AGAIN!). I think my car knows how to get to Utah on auto pilot now. We went to my sweet nieces baptism and spent some time with the family. It was a very special day. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch afterwords with family and friends. Makayla looked so cute in her white dress. Nate enjoyed a nice bike ride with his dad and with Justin (the brother in law). They boys spent lots of time playing hard outside in the sun with their cousins. We played a seriously FUN new game called Reverse Charades as well. GOOD TIMES. We had a wonderful Easter as well. Sometimes you're just having too much fun making the memories that you forget to document them.

Spring Break: Part 2

The next day EE and I decided to be totally spontaneous and decided to pack up the boys and head to LAS VEGAS! We decided to go to Mandalay Bay and see the Shark Reef and wanted to see the M&M store.

After 4 floors at the M&M store we were ready to head back. Honestly, Vegas is NOT my favorite place in the world. Too many people, too much traffic, lots of crazies, way too hot in the summer. Makes me very grateful to live where I do. I realize that it is different if you actually LIVE in the city and I do know some very nice people including FAMILY who live there but I could never see myself living there.

We had a nice short visit but we were all happy to leave. ☺

When we got back we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

 The "girls" hanging out poolside.

The last day in St. George we hiked along the bluffs overlooking the city:

 My back was hurting again as we climbed all around the cliffs. This baby girl is getting big!

It was all fun and games until Parks fell and scraped his whole knee up. Party over.

It felt great to get out of town and see some sun and soak up some vitamin D. We didn't want to come back home but we did miss our dad an awful lot.

Got a nail in my tire on the way home....another long story but we eventually made it home in one piece. It took 9 hours to get home instead of 3 from Salt Lake. ALWAYS something!