What We Have Been Doing Lately

OK. Here is a brief story for some of the topics I mentioned in my last post.

Young Women Game Night

Last week for Young Women's I went with the Beehives. It was so much fun. It was a game night and they have endless energy! They decided to play Missionary Tag (which for all you old people like me, is Fag Tag). Unfortunately they got a kick out of seeing the pregnant girl run around and kept making me run! Finally the other leader decided it was time to stop because she didn't want a baby delivered at mutual. It was super funny! Great girls, and a great time!

Kwana's Concert

So Kwana is in beginning choir. What this means is they are basically just learning about music. At the joint choir concert at Orem High they had the duty of being the staff. They did stuff back stage and passed out programs. They also were able to join in on the last song, which is sung by all choir members and choir alumni. I opted to let Kwana have this moment and not sing with everyone. She made her way onto the stage for the last song and, of course, hid behind someone. It was pretty funny that we went to a concert for one song, but I think she felt special, so that was good. I took a picture of her at home after.

My Fun Rash

So about 2 weeks ago I started getting a rash. It reminded me of Eczema, so I wasn't too worried about it. After a little over a week though, it was getting annoying and I read that I should call my doctor with ANY rash. So, I did. It is just extra irritated skin with the change in weather. It looks pretty bad and hurts in the heat, but it is much better now. I have a light steroid cream I can use twice a day for up to a week and then I have to stop that because I am pregnant. She also has me doing a couple home remedies since she can't prescribe anything else. I hope I get over it soon. Super itchy!

Fun Halloween Party

We went to Shane's brother's Halloween Party last week. It is an adult only party and it is a lot of fun. Heidy does a great job with the food and treats. I ate soooo much candy! We played games and ate. What more is there to life? Shane used an old pirate costume and when Troy game to the door he was Jack Sparrow. It was like the whole wearing the same dress as someone else. All the ladies were harassing them about how it would have just taken one phone call, "What are you going to be?" It was super funny! I opted for a Japanese Kimono since I don't fit in any of my old costumes right now. (Actually I did fit in one dress meant to be sexy, but being pregnant it just looked wrong!) If they post any pics on facebook I'll add them here.

Scripture Study

We have been doing a lot better with scripture study lately. We have been trying to do it different. Rather than having to read a chapter a night or whatever, we are just taking it really slow and talking about EVERYTHING. We may only read 2 verses, but we understand it. Even when all the kids aren't here we try to read it as if they are because it just makes sense and we read looking for questions and answers. It has really been fun to watch Max. He will repeat what we say when it is his turn to read and he does really well. He is also retaining it. The other day we asked him what color the fruit on the tree was from Lehi's dream. He said, "White". He answered some other questions about the dream like clouds of darkness and stuff. It was soooooo rewarding to hear him and know he is retaining some of what we are reading.

SLACK-ER!

I know I have been a blog slacker! It has been since last Tuesday since I posted and that is way too long. It isn't even that I haven't been doing anything...we have! We have just been busy and I have just had enough time to look at all of your posts, not make my own. Just so you know what to look forward to, here are some things I can post about.

Young Women Game Night
Kwana's Choir Concert
My fun rash - the joys of pregnancy
Fun Halloween Party
Scripture Study with Max
FHE Carving Pumpkins
Fall Cleanup

See, tons has been happening! I need to blog about them. I'll try to get in some post time later tonight!

Husband Tag

My friend Tracie tagged me, so here goes.








1.What's his name? Shane
2.How long have you been married? 6 years, 2 months
3.How long did you date? 4 months, including our engagement
4.How old is he? 35
5.Who eats more? Depends on what meal and if I am pregnant
6.Who said "I love you" first? I did
7.Who is taller? He is
8.Who sings better? He would say I do, but he can sing, he just doesn't try often.
9.Who is smarter? Depends on the subject
10.Whose temper is worse? Mine
11.Who does the laundry? I wash, dry and fold. He puts away.
12.Who does the dishes? Depends.
13.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, but it changes according to where the bed is. I sleep closest to the door/kids.
14.Who pays the bills? He pays more with his income, but I write the checks!
15. Who mows the lawn? Shane
16.Who cooks dinner? Me
17.Who drives when you are together? He does
18.Who is more stubborn? He is.
19.Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We both admit it
20. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
21.Who proposed? He did, at Canyon Glen.
22.Who has more friends? I think we have about the same.
23.Who has more siblings? Equal. We both have 6 siblings.
24.Who wears the pants in the family? It depends on what aspect of the house/kids.

I am tagging whoever wants to play

Amazing

At the end of March this year I can't describe what was going through my mind when I awoke from surgery to have Shane tell me, "He couldn't fix it." I thought there was no hope for us having a baby. The doctor said our chances were slim, not of getting pregnant, but having the baby attach right. It was such a hard thing because Shane and I really were feeling like a part of our family was still missing. I never thought that I would feel what I felt when I was pregnant with Max. I have never had an issue with adoption, but I really felt sad I would never experience being pregnant again. I really couldn't remember what the little kicks felt like or how it felt when the baby moved around a lot. I think I took it all for granted, thinking I would always have another chance. It was so amazing the first time I felt our little girl move. Last night was just as amazing. I made Max and Shane stare at my stomach because she was kicking hard and they were able to see her kick. They were also able to feel her kick for the first time. It was so amazing, I can't describe it. We are so truly blessed!

Family Reunion '08

So this weekend we had our 3rd annual family reunion with my immediate family. It was a lot of fun, although Thursday night left a little to be desired!

Thursday


We all met and watched the BYU/TCU Game togehter. It stunk! There really isn't much more we can say about it. The company was good though!

Friday


We call met and drove up to Kennecott Copper Mine. In the 30 years I have lived in Utah I have never gone to Kennecott! Crazy! We finally did it and it was really fun. It was quite interesting and to be honest, it was quite beautiful on the inside. It was like a man-made grand canyon. The kids loved it too! A very interesting thing was the size of the dump trucks! They are huge! The tires are $25,000 each and each truck needs 6 of them. They replace them on a yearly basis. That is $150,000 per year for each truck! My favorite thing was the sign in their little theater. Check it out.

For those who can't read it, it says, "Support a Special Olympian, After all, you cam this close to making the team yourself." It then points to a chart of chromosomes.

We then went and had a picnic lunch before heading to The Discovery Children's Museum at The Gateway. It was a lot of fun as well. Max loved every minute. We spent quite a bit of time there before heading home. We stopped and picked up Aidan and Andrew. It was their holiday with their Mom, but we were fortunate enough to do some switching that allowed them to spend some time with us. We had a taco bar for dinner, which both Aidan and Andrew to sooo excited about. We then played for a little while and watched Hocus Pocus.

Saturday

We got up and headed to Dan's house for a yummy breakfast. Then we hung out before going 4-Wheeling. The 3 pregnant ladies opted to stay in the motor home, but everyone else took a ride. (Except my Mom). The kids had a blast! It was also Kwan A's firt time on a 4-wheeler! She was nervous at first, but quickly was going over jumps and bumps!

After 4-Wheeling we headed to our houses to clean up and then attended Thrillionaires at the Covey Arts Center. Jake (our brother-in-law) is part of this awesome performing group. They had special guest, Alex Boye last night and it was hilarious! We had a great time. Can't wait until next year.

Here's a slide show of some of the events

From Movies

What We Did for My Birthday

On my birthday Max and I went to lunch with my Mom. We had Subway and it was really yummy! We had a great time at lunch.

That night we went to our friend's house to help celebrate his birthday! It was his 40th birthday, so everyone was asked to wear black if they could. The BBQ grill was even a coffin! True Story! It was a lot of fun to see some of our old ward members as well. All the kids have grown up so much!

Max eating a donut off at string at the party.

Precious

So Shane bought me 2 little pieces of girl clothing for the baby, for my birthday. Max couldn't resist and had to try one on. (Keep in mind, this sweater is 6 month, so Max is pretty skinny!

Be An Example

Today Max learned about being an example and being like Jesus. When we got in the car, on our way home from church, we had the following short conversation:

Me: "Max, did you learn about being good like Jesus?"
Max: "Yes"
Me: "Max, how can you be like Jesus?"
Max: "Mmm...by not being like bad Jesus."

We couldn't stop laughing!

Reba/Kelly Clarkson Concert

OK, so last night for my birthday Shane surprised me with tickets to the Reba McEntire/Kelly Clarkson concert. It was awesome!!! The opening act was Melissa Peterman who played Barbara Jean on the TV show Reba. She was HILARIOUS!!!! She wasn't dirty and really was so funny. She made fun of Karaoke and talked about parenthood, etc. Very funny body language. I just wish they would have put her on the big screen during her first part because she makes the BEST faces when she does comedy. If you haven't seen her, check out the Reba show in reruns, she will crack you up! After that they did the concert. I loved that it wasn't Reba or Kelly alone and then they switch bands and the other plays. They were both on stage the entire time. When one was singing the other stepped into the background and sang back up. That takes someone who doesn't have a big ego. They also sang a lot of duets. It was fun to listen to them switch styles. They sang swing, country, big band, pop, etc. You never knew what was coming next. Right before they sang the theme song to the TV show "Reba", Melissa Peterman came out again. She did a whole comedy thing with them. She wore this shirt that had a giant Kelly Clarkson head on it and leaned to the right and said, "Look, Kelly Clarkson is winkin' at ya!" Totally funny. She wanted to sing and of course couldn't, but that didn't keep her from lip syncing and forcing herself in front of them. I know it was staged, but I was laughing out loud the entire time! So good, so funny, and so worth the money. Plus, I got a hot date with my husband!

200th Post

Can you believe it? This is my 200th post! Unfortunately I have nothing major to put here. I just thought it was significant that I have gotten this far with any kind of journal. I have always been so on and off again with journals. I'm proud that I have kept something going!

Max's Dental Work

So this morning we went to have Max's teeth fixed. He was so good. They were running behind and he just played and played and played. When it was time to go in I thought I would need to hold his hand or something. I guess I prepared him well enough because he went right in and climbed on the chair. They laid him back and put the mask on him while he watched a movie, again no issues from him. When they put the IV in his brows furrowed a little, but he didn't really realize what happened. About 2 seconds later he was fast asleep. The work took like 25 min. and they were done. He woke in about 10 min. He was quite cranky afterward, not from pain, just confusion. He didn't believe me that the dentist had done the work so he was determined we were supposed to stay and not go home. It was a fight to get him home. We finally made it and an ice cream later you can't tell he even went in. He is such a tough little guy. Plus, we scored a nice gift card for a restaurant because of our extra wait. I was glad things went so smoothly!

Conference Weekend

For Friday and Saturday we had our good friends, the Manleys, come stay with us. It was VERY short, but still so nice. It has been way too long since we have seen them! We hung out Friday night and introduced them to Rock Band. We then watched the BYU/Utah State Football Game. Thankfully BYU won! We stayed up way past our bedtime and then the guys couldn't last anymore. On Saturday we had a yummy breakfast and watched the first session of conference. We then took a quick trip to Costco to get a Christmas dress for their youngest daughter. We hung out until just about 2 p.m. when they headed home. We miss them already! The son even tried to refuse to get dressed saying they couldn't leave until he was dressed. For the kids it was like time hadn't passed at all (at least for the younger kids).

Matt and Kandi jamming.

Playing Mario Kart

Max was so good around them. He is usually shy, but it was like he remembered them. He played football with them, tried to scare Matt, and even fell asleep on Kandi. What good friends!




Kandi jamming on the guitar



Future Rock Star!



Newly 12! My favorite comment from the weekend. My Dad asked her how old she is. She responded with 12. He said, oh, 12 going on 16? She looked back at him and boldly said, "17." It was awesome!!!



Andrew played the drum set while his best bud hit the foot pedal

I Can't Believe It...I'm 30!

Well, somehow I have turned 30! I really don't know where the time has gone. I remember when I was younger thinking that 30 was so old. I don't feel old! I have changed though. Here are some pictures of me through the years. Some from my cuter years, others I am still wondering about! There is no rhyme or reason as to the order of the pics. Enjoy the laughs!


5th Grade. Love the crazy bangs. Love the cold sore!

7th Grade. I thought my hair was soooo cute!

Sarah was in Kindergarten here and so I would be about 21. I think I need to cut my hair.

Love the dresses!

One of my favorite pictures because it proves that Max does look like me.

You can't tell, but I'm modeling that I am wearing makeup. (Do you love the Scooby Doo and wood paneling in the background?)

Miss Baldy herself.

My Mom made this dress and it was my favorite! Again, love the bangs!

It's a...

I found this poem and thought it was too funny to not use, so here goes...

Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
I have ovaries,
My baby does too!

So, of the 39 that voted, 26 (66%) of you were right and the other 13 (33%) were close, but not quite right!

We are soooo excited. All the boys and Kwana were there and it was such a neat experience. When she told us it was a girl I was shocked even though I had felt it was a girl. Then I couldn't help it and I cried.

I've been tagged - QUIRKS

The Rules: Link the person who tagged you
Tell about 6 quirks of yours
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same
Leave a comment to let them know

MY QUIRKS

1. I am a compulsive Calendar Girl. Not the pin-up kind. I have to have a calendar to keep everything straight. To be honest, I am constantly making calendars. Checking, double checking, etc. I don't know why...I think it is something I can control in my crazy life!

2. I love to cuddle. Shane has been very good about letting me cuddle, but sometimes he thinks I am asleep and will turn away or roll me over. I'm like, "Dude...I wasn't done!" Thankfully Max is a huge cuddler.

3. I am a compulsive blog checker. I am soooo glad the Blog roll is now available. I will check my blog roll at least 4 times a day to see if anyone has updated. Either I have no life, I am a stalker, or I just really like hearing about my friend's lives. I am hoping it is the 3rd option.

4. I cry at sappy stuff. I have found myself watching a TV show for the first time ever. I have no emotional bond with the characters at all, but when something sad happens or sappy, I am right there with the other characters crying up a storm.

5. I hate to shop! Don't get me wrong, I like shopping for baby things, souvenirs, gifts, etc. I hate shopping for clothes for myself. I think it is partly because I don't know what to wear and partly because I don't know what size to get. If you look in my closet you will see my husband has more clothes than I do and my closet is in great need of something to be in it. If anyone is looking for a chance to nominate someone for "What Not to Wear" I will openly accept and take any beating they give me!

6. I am a neat freak. Not your normal neat freak though. I have to have everything just so and in its place. I need everything clean, and clean to my standards, not to the standards of the boys in my home. The reason I am not normal, is that I let things overwhelm me, so if I can't get everything done and they aren't helping, I let too much go, probably because I am worrying too much, checking my calendar, or checking blogs! No really, it is just because I know to get it back to my standards it would take so long to do! I love it when I walk into my house and everything is super clean and smells like the cleansers. You know, that freshly cleaned smell.

As you can tell, these are all my quirks I need to work on. I have some fun quirks as well, but I thought I'd give you the ones I should work on so I can remind myself of them.

I will just tag whoever wants to join in.

19 Week Appointment

OK, so according to my LMP I am just under 19 weeks. I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything is sized good and the heart beat was 153. It should be between 120 and 160 so he said that is great. I gained 4 pounds since the last appointment, which is a pound per week, so I am on track (thank heavens!). My ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow so we'll know the gender then! Our next regular appointment is in 4 weeks!

Halloween + Conference =

So Halloween has been on Max's mind lately. When we were watching conference this morning I asked who was on the TV. Rather than saying what he normally does, he said, "President Monster". It was too cute!

Tender Moment

Last night I went upstairs with Max and laid in his bed with him while I tried to help him to sleep. We talked for a little bit and then I decided I better do the close my eyes thing so he feels like I am going to sleep. I closed my eyes and relaxed and I could feel him relax next to me. Then, I felt his face close to my face. I thought this was cute, but then, all of the sudden, on the tip of my nose, I felt a little kiss. It was so sweet. We stayed with each other until he drifted off to sleep.

Just the night before I was so agitated. Everything was bugging me. I was so short with everything I said. I didn't want to be bugged, I had lots to get done. I missed out on any moments like this. I realized that he is growing up before my eyes and I don't want to miss anything. I need to be more patient and take a step back once in awhile. The dishes and laundry will still be there tomorrow, but Max will be moving out before I know it!