Thursday, June 28, 2012

I think I want to move to San Diego...

Matt's parents were planning grandkids week at their house right after the baptism and so Matt and I figured with the kids gone we should plan a trip with just the two of us before the baby comes. So Sunday after church the kids left with Matt's parents and we headed to Las Vegas to spend the night. We booked a room at the Excalibur ($32/night) and they even upgraded our room for free. The next morning we had their breakfast buffet (yum!) and then we were on our way to San Diego.

That night we had dinner at a seafood restaurant by our hotel and then drove over to Coronado beach to walk around. The next day we went to La Jolla Cove. I've been to San Diego many times but hadn't been here and heard it was pretty neat.


We walked along the rocks on the shore for more than an hour checking everything out. 


Here I am just over 23 weeks pregnant.



There were crabs everywhere and it was fun exploring all the different pools on the rocks to see what was in each one.




These 2 crabs in the middle were fighting so I took video of it for the boys to watch. I couldn't believe how many crabs there were.


I didn't really want to "jump" over to this part of the rock because knowing me I would fall in.



There were also plenty of squirrels around with signs saying not to feed them. I can see why, they were huge and not scared of people at all.


I thought this "sculpture" was cool hanging off the building.


After La Jolla Cove I didn't get the camera out as much but that night we walked around the mall by the hotel and did some shopping.

The next morning we went to the San Diego Temple to do a session. It's a beautiful temple but I had never been inside and it was even more beautiful inside.



After lunch we tried heading to the only flea market that was open during the week but by the time we got there they were starting to clean up for the day and it wasn't very impressive. I've gone to ones in closer in town but they're only open on the weekends.

Next we headed to Old Town (no pictures) and walked around all of the shops and picked up some souvenirs for the boys and had dinner. The weather was perfect the whole trip right around 70 during the day and 65 at night. 

That night we headed back to Coronado beach to watch the sunset.



I found a shovel on the beach so I decided to write in the sand.


The boys thought it was cool that their names were in the sand. Although Ashton is convinced I spelled his name wrong.



I tried to get a "jumping" picture but it just wasn't working.


It was so relaxing walking around the beach in the evenings.


Our last day we had an actual beach day at Coronado. I had some snacks and magazines and Matt enjoyed going farther in the water than I cared to. He did lose his sunglasses in a wave (and he wonders why I don't let him spend more than $10 on sunglasses) but other than that we had a great time. Matt did take a picture of me in my big floppy hat sitting with my magazine but Kaleb saw it and said, "you look really big there, kind of really fat" so I don't think I'll post that picture. Kids know how to make a pregnant woman feel good.


That night we went back to La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions and hang out for the evening. The sea lions were everywhere and they would swim up on the sand and didn't care that people were standing right there. It was fun to watch them swim around.

It was such an awesome trip and I'm not going to wait another 9 years before we go on a trip with just the 2 of us again. It was fun and relaxing, which is hard to get with kids, at least the relaxing part. Friday morning we woke up at 4am and left San Diego and drove to Matt's parents house 16 hours away in Colorado. The boys were up when we got there at 9:30pm and they were excited to see us. Sunday we headed home and after driving about 2,500 miles in one week we were all ready to be out of the car.

Kaleb's Baptism

Kaleb was lucky to have his baptism on his 8th birthday. He's been looking forward to this for months.
Matt's parents and some of his cousins from Colorado came out for the baptism.


Kaleb planned the whole program and it truly was an amazing baptism. It was the perfect day for the perfect boy!


Ashton was being a stink that day and it took so long to get him to even pose for a picture so this is the best we got.


After we had a lunch at our house with family and friends. Kaleb loved having everyone at his baptism and so many people helped out to make the day special and less stressful for me so thank you! Although I did forget to pull out the cake until after people started leaving but other than that it couldn't have been any better.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Update

Two weeks ago I had my 20 week ultrasound to check up on the baby. Everything looks great, she was measuring a little small but everything is developing right on track. She's been more active than my other pregnancies and is always moving around. Even during the ultrasound she started off being horizontal and by the end she was straight up and down. It made it really difficult to get any good profile pictures.

 Here is the last clip from the ultrasound where she was making one last effort to get some profile pictures. She always had her hands in her mouth or face and kept moving around. It's amazing to see your baby during an ultrasound. (And how awesome is it that you get DVD's now instead of a VHS tape.)

(First 30 seconds is a girl shot, then it's her face and profile.)

Even though it was windy last Saturday we headed up to the mountains for some dutch oven cooking and s'mores. Although it was tricky finding a spot we had so much fun and lots of yummy food. Matt said we need to do that more often and I agree. It's easier than camping but you still get to be in the mountains around a fire and enjoy good food.


This was our attempt at a group picture of all of the kids.


Updates:

KALEB: The biggest thing going on right now for Kaleb is preparing for his baptism on Saturday. I can't believe he's turning 8 on Saturday and I think it's really neat that his baptism falls right on his birthday. He's received a special treat each night on our door for the "8 days" before his baptism and he's loved receiving them. He's so mature for his age and it's been a neat experience preparing for his baptism.

He finished 2nd grade and the last day of school they find out who their teacher for the next year will be. He was really hoping to get his same teacher (she taught a 2nd/3rd split this year but next year is just 3rd grade) and he was so excited to see he gets to be in her class next year too. I was also hoping he would get her again because she's been such a great teacher and she loves Kaleb. In April they do their end-of-year testing and Kaleb's reading level is the average of a 4th grader in the 9th month of the school year so almost a 5th grader. I don't take any credit for it though, they have awesome reading programs at his school and he's always been great at reading and spelling without my help. My sister is trying to start him on the Kingdom Keepers books.

ASHTON: Loving summer and not having school, although he loves preschool he likes wearing his pajamas during the day and can't do that when he has preschool. Not sure why he hates clothes lately but hopefully it's just a phase. He's excited to have a baby sister and every time I tell him she's kicking me he says she's going to kick really hard out of my tummy when she's ready to come out. Ashton loves having Kaleb around to play with during the day and most of the time they get along without too much fighting.

Both of the boys are getting excited for grand kids week with Matt's parents next week. They don't get to see their Colorado cousin's very often so I'm sure it will be a fun and loud time at their house!

Matt: Working hard at work and at home. Usually I help with mowing the lawn and with being pregnant he's taken over and not just with the lawn but with most of the yard work and garden. He took the boys hiking early one Saturday morning so I could sleep in with a quiet house. Every time he tries to feel the baby kick she stops kicking, but kids are good at making lairs out of their parents when you try to get them to do something so maybe she's just starting early. :)

Me: Pregnant. That about sums it up, I feel great as far as symptoms go and this has definitely been the easiest pregnancy so far. Although each pregnancy has been easier than the previous and I'm sure part of it is that you're busier and can't focus on it as much and you know how your body reacts. I didn't have any weight gain until 17 weeks but I think I'm making up for some of it now since I eat all the time. I love feeling her kick and move around and even when it wakes me up it's hard to go back to sleep because I want to feel it but I know I need sleep too. We're just grateful that she's healthy and growing and can't believe in 4 or so months she'll be here!