Quick Quick

Here's a quick post to let you know I will be back. I have SO much to do-laundry, packing, cleaning, etc. because if you haven't already heard..... "I'm leeeeavin', on a jet plane... I don't know when I'll be back again...."

Except I do. I'll be gone for 3 1/2 weeks. Thanks to people who love me a lot, we are flying to Vegas to stay for 5 days, then driving to Lake Powell for a week, and then it's up to Salt Lake for almost 2 weeks. And I'm SOOOO happy about it! Except sad that my husband can't come. I'll miss him tons-even though we have been apart A LOT in our marriage, we've never been apart this long. I sure like that guy.

But I'm sure I might be too busy having fun to blog. We'll see :)

And just to let you know, I had my ultrasound today. I'm too lazy to upload pictures, but it's a baby, in case you were curious ;) A healthy, wiggly, right on schedule baby. I already have an induction date for Nov. 1st (cross your fingers for me that it doesn't decide to come before!)

The kids are thrilled and have been asking daily for the last 2 weeks (ever since I told them we were going to get to go to Utah after all) when we are leaving. Finally, at last, I can tell them... tomorrow!

We're happy, healthy, busy and lovin' life. It is good. Really good.

Happy July!

Good Morning

When you wake up, and hear silence, you may think it's a bad thing.

Until you walk downstairs to see this:That's when you pat yourself on the back and think, "Huh. Maybe I'm doing something right in the mom department."

I grabbed my book and joined them :)

Warning:Weight Limit

If you buy a tramp and notice there is a weight limit..... you should probably not try to exceed it!

We Made it to 8!

Not that we were in any danger of NOT making it, but an accomplishment none the less :)

Here's a quick list of some of the noteworthy things that have been a part of our marriage the past 8 years:

-4 1/2 children (top of the list-of course!)

-Of the 8 years, I have been either pregnant or nursing for 5 1/2 of them (I find this a huge accomplishment in and of itself, mostly because our marriage has been so amazing even though I've had a baby attached to me for nearly 3/4th's of it. Also because I am lovingly referred to as "Devil Woman" when I am pregnant. Now you understand the sacrifice Andrew makes :)

-10 moves-including to 3 different states (um, wow)

-College attendance and a graduation and liscense from hair school (Andy's still working on the school thing... someday we'll add "Bachelor's Degree" to this list :)

-10 different jobs (7 for Andy, 3 for me)

-5 promotions (all for Andy... except when we have another child. I guess that's a promotion for me....?)

-Surviving 2 1/2 years of Andy traveling for work and being gone 3 out of every 4 weeks.... did I mention that was for 2 1/2 years? And that I had 3 kids ages 2 and under when it started?

-8 different cars (10 if you include the ones we had while we were engaged)

-6 car accidents (most were minor, but still expensive)

-14 speeding tickets (only 1 was mine :)

-Too many vacations and getaways to count (my favorites being California, Oregan, Mexico, and Washington D.C.)

-Buying our first home (which we still own and I wish we still lived in.... how could I have ever thought it was too small? It's like a dream remembering only having 1 bathroom to clean... ;)

-A surplus of 110 pounds (on average 40 of those have been gained and lost nearly 5 times because of pregnancies, Andy's are because he likes my cooking.... or something)

-13 church callings in 5 wards

-Lots and lots and LOTS of "I love you's" and also "I'm sorry's"

-Oh ya.... and he still likes to look up my dress ;)

I am soooo in love with this guy. Happy 8th anniversery darling.

A Day for Daddies

Dad's are the greatest. I am so blessed to have 3 of the very best ones in my life. First there's this guy:Father of my children. Loves, adores, teaches and supports. Especially when I say "Honey? I think I want another baby." And he responds with, "Uhh, okay."

And then this guy:

MY dad. Oh, I sure do love him. He is the problem solver of the universe, always willing to help, bringer of lunches, player with grandkids, helper with all things needed, dad extrodinaire. He even came over to my house once, when my husband was out of town, and my dog had been hit by a car. It was horrible and he came and buried her in my backyard and then sat with me on the couch with his arm around me and told me about his childhood dogs while I cried into his shoulder. What a guy. We even have a song. It became our song around my sophomore year and I almost blew up my little red Acura's engine because I never checked the oil. It's by the Dixie Chicks and it's called "Wide Open Spaces". It always brings a tear to my eye. My dad and I are very close and I love love love him.

Then we have this guy:

My dad-in-law. He sure did raise a wonderful man, I think mostly because he is one himself. He has welcomed me with open arms from the very beginning. He is funny, kind, and generous. He always laughs at my jokes (and he's usually the only one laughing :), he gives the best hugs and always tells me he loves me. He is always up for some fun, and he always tells me I'm the greatest and a terrific mother. I love him a lot.

So, thanks you three dads. I love ya, and I'm glad we have a day to celebrate you, and I get to brag about you and tell everyone how wonderful you are-because you are.

Happy Father's Day!

Baby Bump

Is it just me, or is this the largest 20 week baby bump you've ever seen?Pretty sure it's not even a bump anymore. More like a mountain.

Oh well. I'm halfway done!

Mom?

These two:

like to fight. They used to be the best of buds but since Jonah has recently become my "difficult child" (which is a completely seperate story), they pretty much just like to duke out everything.

Hence, this post. I was sitting in the kitchen, enjoying my nice, quiet morning (all the kids watch tv when they first wake up for about 1/2 hour before they come upstairs begging for food) when I heard arguing. Not surprisingly-Jonah and Daphne-to be exact. Then I heard in unanimous voices.... "I'm telling mom!" and a jumble of footsteps running up the stairs, accompanied by squeals and I'm sure, shoving and pushing, to race to the top and get the coveted "telling of the story first" place.

I did what any smart, reasonable mother would do.

I hid. In the coat closet.

I heard Jonah first. "Mom, Daphne was hitting.... Mom? Mom, where are you?" Then came Daphne "Mo-om? Where did you go? Mom?" Then the 2 of them talking to each other-"Where is mom?" "I don't know, I thought she was in here." "Is she upstairs?" "Look in the garage and see if the car is here, maybe she went somewhere." (Which, cracks me up that they would even say that-like I would leave them alone!) "Well, the car's here. I wonder where she went?"

The searching continued for another 2 minutes before I heard them laughing at each other and making there way back downstairs.

I came out of my hiding spot, gave myself a pat on the back, and ate my breakfast in peace.

Mom-1 Kids-0

No More Pencils, No More Books!

Laylah and Jonah had their last day of school on Friday. Hallelujah! I just luuuuuv summer break.On their way to the bus for the last time this school year!

running home from the bus-look at that grin!

Wahoo-No more school! Andy's mom had a little tradition of making each of her children their favorite treat on the last day of school to welcome them home. I think that's a great way to celebrate, so I've picked it up. Here they are with their sheet cake and homemade oreo cookies. Yum!

We had such a fun day. The girls got invited to a "Tickled Pink it's Summer" party and I took the boys to our community pool where they were also having a party. There was food, games, and a radio station there blasting music. It was packed, loud, and fun. After the girls party they joined us at the pool and we swam until dinner time. We hurried home to eat and then we were off to "Movie at the Park Night" where they had a giant inflatible movie screen and they played Alvin and the Chipmunks-the Squekquel. It was so much fun and the perfect end to a great day.

There was a radio station there and the kids were so excited to see the "B" (except Bear, who freaked out and ran away as fast as he could!)-they thought it was the same bee from the Buzz games in Utah ;)

Jonah and Daphne were completely OUT by the end. It is exhausting having so much fun!

We have alot of fun plans for the summer. Tons of swimming, going to the beach, day trips to nearby lakes, barbeques with friends, campouts (okay, maybe 1 campout. I think that's all I can handle :), free movie Wednesdays, free bowling, and anything else we can come up with. We were supposed to visit Utah for the month of July and go to Lake Powell with my family on my parents houseboat, but plane tickets shot up drastically all of the sudden and it's just not going to happen now ($3000 for 6 people to Salt Lake.... a little much? Yes) :( It was very hard for me to accept and I am still extremely sad if I think about it too much, so I don't. The kids were disappointed for a minute, but I got them excited with all of our other plans, and luckily children forget quickly. I think we can have a great summer here and that's what we'll do!

Pregnant Brain

I opened my fridge around lunchtime the other day and saw this:

I had vaguely remembered doing it but wondered "How did I not realize...??" Then I quickly checked the cupboard to make sure I hadn't put the milk away in there! Luckily, I hadn't. We had finished off the gallon and the empty carton was still sitting on the table. Phew!

Simple Summer Days, Magical Summer Nights

Even though school doesn't get out until tomorrow, it's summer around here...The days are lazy, the kids just about live in their swimming suits (they have to.... we average 85 degrees around here, even when it's raining!), we picnic nearly every lunch, and it's hot hot hot!

They are loving it and so am I.

If you haven't noticed in recent pictures, Andy shaved his head. He's been thinning for a couple years and it got to the point where it looked a little.... silly. He finally gave up that fight and shaved it off. I think it's super sexy. Good thing I like the "no hair" look. When we got married 8 years ago, I never would have thought Andy would go bald.... oh well! Anyway, ever since he did it, the boys have been begging to have their heads shaved "just like daddy" (in fact, even Daphne said she wishes she was a boy so she could shave her head too-haha!). He did Baron's, but I told Jonah he had to wait until school was out. Well, last Saturday Jonah came downstairs looking like this:

Ummmmm, ya. That lasted all of.... 2 hours? I wasn't a fan. Now he's buzzed completely, just like Bear and his daddy. So much for waiting until school's out! He said everyone at school told him he looks awesome. Good thing, we wouldn't want anything less ;)

There are fireflies in Virginia. And because we live in front of a little forest, we get a little light show every night. It is amazing and beautiful. It's so mesmorizing, I will go out and watch it for long periods of time. Sadie hates them-she runs back and forth across the foliage line and barks her head off at them-maybe she's trying to protect us? They don't come out in full force until it's completely dark around 9:45-10. We let the kids stay up late one night to see them. They loved it and were completely quiet and just stared until we made them come inside to go to bed.
They had to move down to the tramp for a closer look. I tried taking a picture of the little blinking lights, but the picture turned out black. Maybe if I had a better camera.... oh well!

We sure are enjoying summer so far.... how about you?

The Rest of It... and Going Home

Whew! I will be officially caught up with our fun trip back to Utah after this post. We did so much and were going constantly, and had so much non-stop fun that it exhausts me just to live through it again by documentation :)I didn't get pictures of everything I wanted to, but at least I'll have a record of it. Cristan and I got together for a couple days, traded hair and nail services, did lunch, shopping and just talked each others ears' off. I got to see Tara, stylist extrodinaire, chatty chat with her and got my locks done. I got to go to the temple with my in-law family for Ryan's fiancee to recieve her endowments. I got to do lunch at my favorite Leatherby's and see some fabulous ladies from my old ward who I love and adore.

The kids got to see all of their bestest friends and cousins, have a TON of sleepovers with them and play constantly. Lucky Ducks.They were so so tired every day from missing naps, staying up late, and just playing so hard. This is on the way to another sleepover with their William's cousins (Andy's sister Stefanie's kids) The sleep started before the party began :)

I also got to go to a bridal shower for Sarah (that my sis-in-laws purposely waited to give so I could come. So sweet. Thanks ladies :), have a fun-filled shopping/lunch day with Rachel and my mom, and I also did a LOT of hair. It was so much fun (I think I already mentioned that ;) and it was great to be able to see everyone I love.

The trip back home to Virginia went smoothly, we made all of our standy-by flights again, including the red-eye Sunday night that was packed full. They gave us "sleep packets" with eye masks and ear plugs and all the kids loved them and used them, as well as Andy and I, and they all slept the entire flight. We even had to wake Daph to get her off the plane.
We landed in New York, ate breakfast and hung-out. The kids were so groggy and a bit ornery, but by the time we got on our next flight they were happy again.

Blurry, but I thought this was cute. Daddy with his chicks gathered round in their jammies :)


The last flight was quick, we got off, got our bags, took the shuttle to our car and drove the 2 hours home. All the kids fell asleep and I had to force myslef to stay awake so I could help Andy stay awake. When we got home at noon on Monday the kids crashed, Andy and I crashed and we slept the day away. We got pizza for dinner, picked up Sadie at the kennel (she was SO happy to see us!) took baths, and went to bed again. We were all so tired. The kids had to go back to school the next day, but they were caught up on sleep and ready to go. It took me a couple more days to get back into it and I finally finished unpacking on Saturday. It was a wonderful, fun-filled trip and we can't wait to go back!

Happy (Surprise) 30th Andrew (Again)!

I planned a surprise 30th birthday party for Andy while we were in Utah. I invited both of our entire families, and a few of our close couple friends. I was so happy how many people were able to make it. I did it the Saturday before we left to go back to Virginia and I was sure Andy had some idea that something was going on, but he later told me that he didn't. I couldn't believe I pulled it off! (with TONS of help of course :) I had asked my dad to keep him busy all morning so I could shop and get ready and then my sister Rachel's hubby Don invited him to go to a movie that afternoon so we could get all set-up, guests could arrive and we could be ready to surprise him when we got back. Even though it was a month late, I think he enjoyed it and was happy. Surprise!!

We had a big barbeque, hung out, talked, ate, had cake and ice cream, and did a pinata. It was hilarious and so much fun.The 3 prego's (Becca and Rachel are due the same week and I am due 7 weeks after.... and I'm as big as them. Whoops-at least I'm on my 5th-they're both having their 3rd :)

Andy received some great and hilarious gifts-I gave him a night at the Castle Creek Inn (our favorite Bed and Breakfast) that we used that evening while the kids stayed home with my parents.

There is no way I could have pulled it off without my mom and dad's and sister Rachel's help. They are the best and I love love love them! Happy 30th (again) Andy. I think you know by now HOW much I love and adore you babe :)