Thanks for all your votes on my baby’s name. Looks like Samuel is the winner but Liam and Ethan aren’t too far behind. Jeremy and I have our favorites and now we get to battle it out. We’ll probably wait until we see the baby until we make a final decision.

Here is my 40 week belly shot.

My due date has come and gone… just like I thought it would.

I only had a little bit of fun at church yesterday when people would say “So when is your due date?” and I’d respond with “Today!” and then they’d look completely shocked.

I’m keeping up with my walking and we’ve even been hiking a bit. On Saturday I was surprised how well I was doing trudging up the mountain with very little contractions. I wasn’t even ready to head back to the car when the kids were.

Oh well, patience, patience.

I’ve been away from the computer for a few days so this is just a quick update. Then I’ll be back with some fun nesting projects that I’ve been up to.

Jeremy has had some family in town so we planned a little weekend getaway with everyone. It was nice and relaxing with lots of cousins, lots of yummy food to eat and lots of fun and laughs.

It’s always amazing how well cousins play together.

Here’s part of the crew.

Oh, did I say it was relaxing? Actually we did a ton of walking. Hikes to beaver dams, exploring trails around the Ogden Nature Center and even the MS Walk to support my sis -in-law. We walked so much I thought I might go into labor with all the contractions I was having but NO. I woke up the next day still pregnant.

We spent a couple of the nights playing the card game BANG. Have you heard of it? It was pretty fun if your looking for a new game to play with your family.

We have a birthday girl at our house today. It’s always fun to remember Leah’s birth story. Was it really 3 years ago?

I saw this pin and thought that waking up to balloons was an awesome idea for a 3 year old.

I was right. Especially when the balloons are pink and purple- the birthday girls favorite.

“Mom, I have boons in my room!”

I am completely incapable of doing nothing when I’ve got a whole week before me that is void of plans and adventure. Thus, I decided to put an end to the kids begging and pleading to go visit their cousins since I, myself, needed a getaway.  We loaded up in the car and drove up north to visit my stupendous sister and her family. Luckily the Idaho weather was friendly and obliging while we were there and we had a great time playing out of doors a little bit.

Isaac has always loved his cousins motorcycles but this year he was completely capable of putting on his protective gear, starting his own engine, shifting gears and riding around independently. It was so fun for me to watch him go. He’d hoot and holler as he’d drive off down the street. Luckily this is what Idaho boys do and the neighborhood doesn’t care one bit. The boy was in boy heaven and he spent every free minute he could outside riding.

I had to steal a couple of photos from my sister, who has a much better camera than I do. I have to give her credit for some of these photos. She posted here about our trip too.

Jessica home schools her kids and participates in a rock’n co-op type group in the Idaho Falls area. She teaches a little art class there and so we were excited to join her and see what it was all about.

The kids had a great time. Not only did they get to go to art class but the went to other classes like Math Mania and Weather Wizards and Recorder class. A super fun way to do school. Yes?

Jessica and family also took us on a little nature hike. We got all bundled up and slowly peeled off layers as we went. The spring sun was up and shining and it was such a nice little trail. We followed along a natural spring with water cress growing in it. These two little munchkins were super slow movers and together caused us a bit of “hurray ups” and “don’t put any more rocks in your pockets.” Fun times. To be honest, my pregnant waddle wasn’t much faster than a toddlers meander.

Isn’t this pic of Leah darling! No she’s not going to fall backwards into the river. There is a gentle hill behind her. (thanks Jess for the pics and the good times)

Oh, yeah! While I was there and had my sisters undivided attention, around 1:00 in the morning, I convinced her to help me give my blog a little make-over. I ended up sitting there watching her do her html magic and felt a bit hopeless and useless so instead I cleaned her kitchen in exchange (which lasted until the next morning when the cereal crew blew threw.)

So take look around. There are a few changes such as the lack of ads, a Pinterest feed and my Amazon bookshelf. The yellow blog banner is temporary. I’m hoping to have a streak of creativity and come up with something fresh, fun and awesome to put up there… but for now…

We had some airline tickets that needed to be used before March so we combined some frequent flier miles and credit card reward miles to take our little family on a weekend get away to San Fransisco, CA.

We had such a great time. Here are some of our favorite highlights.

We went and saw the Elephant Seals at Point Reyes National Park. They are massive animals but of course the park doesn’t let you get very close to them. It was mostly the mamas and the pups left on the beach. You could watch them through provided telescopes. It was a super windy day and barely tolerable without wearing windbreaker gear. There was also a good whale watching spot on top of the point by a lighthouse but the wind conditions dissipated any blow spout spray that would be visible if whales were passing by. Beautiful place though, and it looked like there were tons of hiking and camping opportunities there.

Driving down from Point Reyes took us along the California State Route 1, which was called Shoreline Highway up there above the Golden Gate Bridge. I don’t think I’ve ever driven on such a beautiful, dramatic road. This picture doesn’t even half capture the sights we saw. The coast line was Gorgeous!

We all loved tide pooling but I think Emma and Jeremy loved it best. I think they could have done this for hours and hours. We had read on line that the tide pooling at Muir Beach was a great spot for kids. Unfortunately the tide was high so we were a bit limited but with Jeremy’s animal finding skills we found plenty of star fish, anemones and shells to make everyone happy.

Muir Woods was super cool. It’s not the famous Redwood Forest you grow up hearing about but you get a good idea about how big these giant sequoia trees can be. We hiked around and had a great time pretending we were in some sort of troll land.

I put two photos together to get an idea how tall these trees really are. It’s still hard to imagine, I think.

We went and checked out Half Moon Bay and spent a nice time relaxing on the beach. There are fun cliffs to hike around and explore. I guess there are some massive waves 4 miles up from the beach at a place called Maverick where major surfing comps happen. We checked it out but the waves weren’t breaking.

Again, it was windy and a little cold along the shore. We bundled up the kids the best we could with lots of layers. Jeremy and I had forgotten to pack our own coats and had to make due with sweatshirts. The funny part was that Jeremy had even forgotten even a sweatshirt until we were getting dropped off at the airport by my parents. My dad, most kindly, took off his own sweatshirt and let Jeremy borrow it for the trip. On this particular day Jeremy had on a white collared shirt, black pants and my dad’s sweatshirt, an outfit my dad wears quite often. They are very similar in build as well. Every now and then I’d have a funny feeling that I was hugging my dad instead of my husband. Creepy! Ha.

Emma was dying to go to Alcatraz. They’ve been studying and reading a book about it at school so it was fun for her to see a place she’d learned all about. She couldn’t stop talking about Al Capone.

Sorry Jeremy, you should have put down your phone and smiled at the camera. Emma was too cute not to post.

It was fun to walk around Peir 39 and see all the yummy restaurants and shops but of course our favorite part was the Sea lions. Bark, bark.

After driving around the crazy up and down roads of San Fransisco I couldn’t help but wonder who’s grand idea was it to build up such a big city in such a hilly place. It was a crazy roller coaster ride and the houses are amazing. Is everyone in San Fran in good shape after walking up and down those hills?

We, of course, went down Lombard street before hitting China Town.

Sorry about the poor shot of a garbage can.

Chinatown was a stop that Jeremy really wanted to make. Jeremy speaks Cantonese and spent 4 years of his life in Hong Kong. He said Chinatown felt a lot like Hong Kong because it too is quite hilly. He had a fun time talking to people. They are always so surprised that he speaks so well. Imagine an old Chinese lady saying, “Ahhhh.” after hearing him. It’s fun to see their faces light up. We were looking for a bathroom once and Jeremy could tell the ladies in a restaurant were going to tell him no until he asked in Chinese. Then, there was one conveniently located in the back.

Jeremy really wanted to find some of his favorite foods to share with us, some fruits, so we spent some time walking around trying to find a super market that sold more than just the usual fruits. Unfortunately, we were still in America and not in tropical Asia. Guess we’ll have to plan a trip for overseas!

Overall we had a great trip. The kids even love just staying in a hotel. A pool and a continental breakfast are the some of the best things on earth. San Fransisco is a great place to check out if you’re ever in the area.

We came home to snow and 30 degrees but it’s okay. It’s always good to get home.

Utah has had a terrible year for snow.  We are usually getting dump after dump of the white fluffy stuff but this year the resorts are open mainly because of man made snow. So sad. This has been a good thing for me, though. I normally would be really bummed about it but this year, it has been a blessing for my adventurous self. I couldn’t go snowboarding even if there was tons of feet of fresh snow in the mountains.

This past weekend we finally got a little bit of snow. It wasn’t tons but it was enough to have to bust out the snow shovel and make some snow angels.

On Presidents Day we decided to have a little family adventure. Snowshoeing. You’d think that because Jeremy and I are so outdoorsy that our kids would love it too but I guess it just comes down to being a personality things and not an exposure thing. There are always complaints when we tell the kids we’re going to go out hiking or something.

Why is that? Do your kids love getting out of doors?

Once we get out and are the middle of it the kids (usually) end up having a pretty good time and making some fun memories. There was enough fluffy snow that the kids had fun “floating” on top with their snowshoes.

This particular trip had it’s ups-

and it’s downs!

We were so tired and cold by the time we reached the (frozen) waterfall that we barely stopped to take a look at it.

{Emma is looking over my shoulder right now and had a good laugh at that sad photo. She said “That’s funny. I did that on purpose! (meaning she wouldn’t smile for me.) I was so tired.”}

The hike took us much longer than expected. I hate to admit it but Jeremy and I were a bit worried about how to hike out of there. We were 2 miles from anywhere and the kids, the girls, in particular, were reaching the end of their toughness. Luckily for us Emma finished surprisingly strong. I was so proud of her.

Have you ever been stuck somewhere dreadful with kids and wondering how are earth you were going to get yourself out or who was going to rescue you? Not necessarily an outdoors experience. Maybe a lost child at a store or a terrible blow out and no clothes to change baby. It’s a terrible feeling as a parent to feel stuck. Sometimes someone kind will come along and help you or sometimes you have to just grit your teeth and bare it.

This day we had to grit our teeth and bare it.

Pretty amazing site though.

I’ve never been so grateful to get back to my car in my life.

My little brother was married this past week. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera along or even my cheap-o phone to snap any kinds of shots of the handsome couple so I had to snag some from the photographer. My sister was more diligent with her camera and posted all about it and I’m totally tempted to cut and paste her whole post.

Because it was a chilly October afternoon, wedding pictures out of doors were rushed because of the violent shaking and shivering from everyone. I was wishing for more pictures of us with the couple or some of the my kids with the bride. Oh well, these two make such a handsome couple, yes?

This was one of the funnest wedding receptions I’ve attended. It was one big awesome party and we danced the night away to the amazing and classy New Deal Swing band, led by Tad Calcara, the principal clarinetist for the Utah Symphony. They were amazing and even had a vocalist, Melissa Pace Tanner to dazzle us with her talent. Everyone was toe tapping and bobbin’ around all night. It was such a hoot.

A lot of things have changed since I got married. It’s hard for me not to be completely jealous of how cute and stylish announcements, decorations and wedding dresses can be these days. One of the big differences is that photographers are super awesome and capable now. We had a good laugh over my wedding pictures being on actual film and shoved in a envelope somewhere.

Film? Really? Am I that old.

Seriously, so cute!

My kids has such a great time at the reception. Not only was their dancing and cousins to keep them entertained but a there was a table full of sweets and goodies to choose from. I’m talking about humongous suckers and an endless supply of soda bottles. Pure heaven.

It was such a great day. Congratulations Ryan and Mariah!

We have enjoyed our back yard chickens immensely. I had no idea that watching these ladies grow  up and begin laying eggs would bring me so much joy. Neither did I know my children would have hours of fun with them.

These silly birds are so curious. I think we have successfully tamed them. When they are free roaming, they will come running up to us when we open the back door. They either really like being around us or are hoping for some food but either way it always makes me smile.

“Hello, Ladies!”

This week we are finally getting eggs. Hurray, hurray! It’s so fun for the kids to go out and find them. Here are some next to a white store bought egg for comparison. The first eggs are a bit small but we think they’ll get bigger because our hens are Leghorns (though not pure bred) who are suppose to be excellent egg layers. We kept wondering if these chickens were really going to lay eggs. When Emma found one in our newly build egg box she thought I was crazy when I did a little dance around the kitchen. “I didn’t know grown-ups got excited!”

My sis that lives in Idaho asked me why I hadn’t shown a picture of our chicken coop. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to post about my chickens but it may have been that obtaining our chicken coop and getting our chickens settled in it has been a real ordeal and therefore too overwhelming to post about until we were really settled. When they were getting big enough to move from a cardboard box to a coop I spent several days looking online for a design that would work in our back yard. We wanted it to big enough to hold 4 to 5 hens, fit somewhere in our back yard and keep it 5 feet from the fence (city ordinances.) We finally decided that we lack the tools and the knowledge to build our own coop and turned to the classifieds.

Luckily there are plenty of coops there to choose from. We purchased our coop and found that it tucked nicely in our little tree grove by the back fence. We then had to make some minor adjustments to the design, paint it so it would be waterproof, and build an egg box (which we just did yesterday.) We are happy with our coop although it’s not a perfect design. Our chickens seem to like it well enough except when we leave them out past dusk they prefer to roost in the trees. It’s so funny to see our 4 hens sitting 10-12 feet up on a flimsy branch just happy as can be. They must feel really safe up there despite their clumsiness.

So here’s to eggs, goofy chickens and providing hours of entertainment. Hurray!

(No chickens were harmed in this photo shoot.)

We had a great little camping trip this weekend. The weather was great, the location gorgeous and the memory making complete.

I’m in love with camping. I always find myself wondering why I’m not doing more of it. Oh yea, it’s quite a bit of work to pack and unpack. It’s always challenge to find a free weekend too. But it’s totally worth it! For those of you who are not campers or have never been I encourage you to try it.

Here’s my Camping 101 list for you:

1.Call ahead- It’s a great idea to call the ranger or camp host over the area and find out the scoop on your desired campsites and hikes. They can tell things like where are the nicer spots, what time walk-up sites fill up, if there is a water source or if the mosquitoes are bad.

2. Gear- There are some things you’ll need but don’t feel like you need to have it all. You may also be limited to what you can fit in your car (like us) so pack light if you can. A basic tent, a decent sleeping bag and a cheep foam mat will do. You can catch up on your sleep later. Some other must haves are flashlights, something to hold water in, matches and a first aid kit. The more room you have, the more comfy you can get with camp chairs and air mattresses. Here are more comprehensive lists here and here but I would personally scratch off about half of the items. I guess I’m a minimalist.

3. Plan your meals- If you plan wisely you’ll only need one source for cooking. Fire pit (hot dogs or tin foil dinners), camp stove (soups or scrambled eggs) or maybe even a dutch oven (cobblers, meats or a yummy hashbrown breakfast.) A lot of food prep can be done at home such as cutting up veggies for a tin foil dinner or scrambling eggs. Don’t forget a can opener or your s’more ingredients.

4. Go with friends or extended family- Sometimes it’s nice to just have family time but everyone seems to be a bit happier if there are friends along (for motivation on hikes.) We also found that if you forgot something (bug spray, serving spoon) chances are your friend will have it.

5. Bring firewood- Don’t plan on gathering your logs from under the trees. Chances are the campsite has already been picked clean. Maybe you have your own stash at home but if you don’t it’s cheaper to buy a couple bundles from the grocery store. If you forget you can usually buy some from the camp host. If you are super stingy then be sure to bring your trusty axe because nothing small will be left.

6. Plan on getting dirty- Don’t wear your cutest clothes. Kids will always get sticky with marshmallows and it’s almost impossible to keep dirt and ash from rubbing off on you. Don’t worry, everyone will scrub clean once you’re home.

7. Explore the area- Hanging out in camp is fun but be sure to check out the nearby hikes, lakes and rivers. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Well, that’s the basics, I think. The only thing I personally need to remember for next time is to have a bowl or bag in the tent for throwing up in. This is the second camping trip that Leah has spontaneously thrown up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Bare-handing it isn’t very pleasant at all.

I mentioned that we took family photo on the beach and that Leah had been a little difficult but I didn’t mention how difficult the whole fiasco really was.

We only had one night to do the big family photos. We quickly coordinated all 30 people in our family and showed up at the beach all spiffied up and ready to go. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate. It was so windy and sunny. The wind was blowing one way and the sun was shinning the other.

Not good.

You might wonder why we didn’t we wait until the weather was more desirable but when you have the chance with all 30 family members you’ve got to take it; rain or shine… maybe I aught to say wind or shine…

Because it was terribly windy.

Emma seemed to have handled the wind better than me. She still seems to look adorable underneath all her hair.

It was so sunny when we first arrived. I know very well that we shouldn’t take photos in the bright sun but I’m telling you that we really had no other choice.

Isaac struggled with the sun in his eyes. He tried the binocular method but was told to put his hands down so then we just got squinting, grimacing and looking down from him.

Leah was really the star of the show.

She was so unhappy. She wouldn’t let anyone hold her but me. That made me hot, sticky and unhappy too. She wouldn’t look at anyone for a picture despite the funny faces, noises or whatever party tricks they could come up with. We were even promising suckers and popsicle. We did our best and then we gave up.

I love this photo because not only is Leah having a fit but Emma is holding Isaac’s head up because he kept looking down. Such a hoot.

Any tips for taking photos of kids?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the Doritos feast the kids had RIGHT BEFORE we headed down to the beach.  I was unaware until we were there and noticed my kid’s orange faces and shirts. Cleaned them up the best I could… guess I’ll have to photoshop Emma’s shirt though.

Better luck next time.