Pregnancy Pictures with the Sisters!

My sisters and I are all pregnant at the same time! We're due within months of each other: me pregnant with my 5th (due in 6 weeks) down to my youngest sister, Whitney, pregnant with her 1st (due in May).

Thanks to a willing husband to take on the challenge of making 4 pregnant women happy by taking our pictures, Carissa and Claire in town so we could be together, and a quick break between meetings at church, we were able to snag some photos of us sharing the experience together! Who knows if it'll happen again?!?

Love my sisters! I liked capturing the memory. So, although I am soo done with being pregnant, here is to future nostalgia! I'm excited to have cousins close together. Claire and I are having boys, Carissa is waiting to keep it a surprise, and Whitney hasn't found out yet (although bets are they'll both be girls :)

A Few of our Favorite Things...

 Fall break was this weekend for the kids. We decided (the day before we left) to take a last minute trip to St. George and enjoy some sunny weather. I found a place to stay that offered an enticing last-minute deal, so we booked it and headed out of town the next morning!

We have "favorite things" we do when we go to St. George: visit cottonwood park, go on picnics, play in the red sand, hike snow canyon, go swimming, eat ice cream, and visit the temple. It's starting to become our family tradition when we visit!

We play hard and try to enjoy as much of the outdoors as possible. The mornings were cool enough for a jacket or pants, but warmed up nicely by noon that we were dressed completely differently for the afternoon heat! October was a great time for St. George! Still warm enough to swim, but not super hot! The kids received swim-suit tans like it was mid-summer all over again. The Lindon pool has been closed for 2 months, so swimming again was a treat.

After hiking our favorite petrified dunes trail in snow canyon, we visited Jenny's Canyon, a short hike to a fun slot canyon with climbing walls for the kids. It was really cool and a big hit. The inside was like natures playground! They had a fun time exploring.

The kids liked this spot because they could climb through a small crevice from the bottom whole on the lower right and wiggle through to the top whole... and then it sloped down like a slide on the other side.

On Sunday, we took a drive to explore the Pine Valley Mountains. We drove through some quaint old towns from Mormon heritage. This Pine Valley was very scenic. Trees were taken from here to make the pipes for the tabernacle organ.

 It had a steak house which would be fun to try someday (since it was Sunday and closed, we'll have to go back). It was positioned right in front of it's cattle field!

 This is one of the oldest LDS chapels still being used as a meeting house. The parking lot was grass. It was so cute and tiny! Very well maintained and would make for a fun place to meet on Sundays for church.

We took the road less traveled on the way home and found a dirt road up through the mountains. Our mini van made the trip! We got to see some "wild cows" and some fun back country southern Utah granite formations. Brian took the kids on a mini hike. This is a picture of them "whoop-whooping" at the top. The mountains, although 30 minutes from sunny St. George, were quite cold! It reminded me of why we left Utah County :)

This will probably be our last family vacation for a while, since baby and winter are coming. I'm glad it all worked out and we were able to get away... even if it was only for 4 days.

P.S. Only 8 weeks left!

Countdown is on!!

I only have 9 weeks left of pregnancy! 8 if I'm lucky...10 if I'm not! I can't believe it's that close! Not only to the new baby, but to the Christmas holiday as well! Apparently it's the size of a large cabbage and weighs about 3 lbs. I feel like it's a pumpkin that weighs 9 pounds! I'm ready to be done! I'm just praying he doesn't come with colic or reflux! That was SO SO hard last time.

It's our fifth, so we're pretty prepared for this, but here's a short list of what I need to get do in the next few weeks:

1) pick a name!
2) register at the hospital
3) pack hospital bag for me and new baby
4) take pics with the sisters! We're all prego!
5) get Vaseline and sterile gauze for circumcision care
6) study up on labor so I'm prepared (goin' al natural again!)
7) have Christmas taken care of!

Not much to do but let the baby grow and enjoy the holidays with the kids. These cute pictures get me excited for a Christmas baby. I'm a little scared thinking about the night job that will be mine for a while, dealing with kids and colds and a newborn during the winter, and managing 5 little ones! Somedays it's overwhelming to think about. I hope I can manage!

Dancing Queen

Zoey is taking her first dance class. Every Thursday for 45 minutes at our local rec center.  She loves the music and often parades around the house showing off her moves. I think she likes to play dress up in her dance clothes more, however.

 She was really shy the first week and begged me to stay and watch, which I did. She loomed around the back, kept her arms folded, and didn't know what to do. I could tell she felt really awkward. She moved as stiff as Brain (not what we see of her at home)! I wondered if she would even enjoy an organized dance class like I thought she would. But today, after a month of going, she bounded out of the car and said "At least I have lots of friends here!" She's slowly breaking out of her shell and allowing herself to have fun in the class and do moves without worrying if other people were watching her.

I hope she enjoys it enough to stick with it, but maybe she'll want to try soccer or tumbling next...who knows! We'll try to support her with whatever she decides! I love having a little dancer though!

Zoo!

We took the family to the zoo on Saturday in honor of Eli's birthday. We wanted to go on his birthday, but the weather was too cold and rainy, so we waited for the weekend. We weren't disappointed! The weather was perfect. A little chilly in the morning, but sunny and beautiful while we walked around the zoo. The animals were active and fun to watch.

Eli has been a fan of bears for a long time, but he hasn't ever seen a real one. He tells stories of bears, he sleeps with a bear, he likes to makes sounds like a bear, he even wrestles like a bear! We thought he'd like the experience, so the first exhibit we went to was the grizzly bears! He was mesmerized. We spent more time there than any other part of the zoo, although I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it all.

The polar bear was also really active and fun to watch. The kids loved watching him swim up to the glass right in front of them. He was very playful!

 
Of course we had to take the iconic fountain photo at the zoo....

Calvin was such a sport. He and Zoey enjoyed the playground area. It was a nice break in between exhibits to let them explore and touch things. It runs as a splash pad during the summer, which is a great idea! We haven't been to the zoo since I was pregnant with Zoey. They've made many improvements. It was a great day trip for the family! We finished with lunch under the shade of a tree at "This is the Place" Heritage park.

Eli's Birthday!

Eli had been looking forward to his 3rd birthday since May when Jackson had his camp-themed birthday party. Nearly all conversations afterwords went like this: "For my birthday..."

We had a countdown chain put up when we finally made it to September, and it seemed SO long! Slowly the days went by and the chain was down to only 3 links, then 2, and finally the last day! He woke up as early on his birthday as he did on Christmas morning--6:45! He even asked later that day "Is it Christmas?"

He wanted a dump truck cake with candy. We made an applesauce cake with cinnamon frosting and lined whoppers around the bottom:

Jackson made this turkey hat last year in Kindergarten. I had saved it for him in may fall decorations, so when we pulled out the box this last Saturday to decorate, he was excited to see I still had it for him. Eli also fell in love with it. One night we were putting the kids to bed and couldn't find Jackson. We later found he had locked himself in the yoga room and was making the very same hat for his brother Eli for his birthday. He wrapped it and wrote "I love you Eli, Happy Birthday!" It was a well-loved gift! They've always made the best of brothers!

Mom and Dad gave him a wheelbarrow and Lego's. He was remembered by grandparents and Aunts and Uncles, and even our neighbor Betty. It was the best day he could have asked for! Just like he dreamed of over the last 6 months!

Some favorite things about Eli right now: 1) He's not too old for a nap, and still sleeps like he did when he was 9 months old 2) He is super forgiving- there are "hot" moments between siblings, but he's quick to forgive, say he's sorry and give hugs 3) He shares everything he has! He's very giving 4) He is thoughtful when someone else is sad.
 

The Boys' Trip

In our house, when the boys take a trip, it means mom and Zoey also get a bonding moment! Brian had promised Jackson and Eli a fishing/camping trip all summer. Can you believe summer came and went and it never happened? After several weekends of getting rained out, an evening finally opened up where they could go. Look at the leaves already changing! Yikes!

They had a blast... I could tell by the way they smelled when they walked through the door! After battling them to take showers, they told me of the fish they caught, where they camped, the adventures they had. It was great. I'm glad they have a dad who takes the time to do this kind of thing with them. It's a lot of work for one night- but the boys will have a great memory of it and that's the important thing.

Zoey and I (and Calvin- who is too little to camp yet) went to swiss days! We listened to a band play, had snow cones, shopped (It's Zoey who will ask "Can we just go buy something?"...is she a girl or what?).  We had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant called Don Pedros and Zoey begged for churros. I was amazed at how much she and Calvin could eat! After putting Calvin to bed, we stayed up and watched "Strawberry Shortcake" and had a good time together.

Brian and I both agree that taking time to be one-on-one with our kids is so important. And it's visibly seen how much they appreciate it too. It takes effort with having so many little ones close together to not make them feel just a "part of the crowd" but we hope they each know how much they are loved as an individual part of our family. Each one is so special!

Harvest Time

It's September! I'm excited for it for a couple of reasons. 1) We have 9am church, which is a huge improvement for our kids! 2) Right around the corner is our yearly ritual of stocking up our shelves with canned produce. We've put away corn from the garden in our freezer and are gearing up for applesauce, peaches, pears, grape juice and tomatoes. Canning is a lot of work, but its worth the effort. Our kids love what we make. We've been completely depleted for months now and are feeling the effects. I miss having the ability to go to the basement for a jar of something we need. We'll have hundreds of jars to fill this year!

Last week, I did small batches of fun things: raspberry jam, peach jam, pepper jelly, thick and chunky salsa, apple pie filling, peach pie filling, and raspberry pancake syrup! It's yummy stuff.

I noticed Jackson wasn't eating his sandwiches in his school lunch and he said it's because he doesn't like store bought bread or jam. SO I made a batch of bread and made the jam and he's eating his lunch! And he's right- it's sooo much better! I have yet to make a batch of strawberry jam too, but I'm waiting for the right price. Someday, we'll have to grow our own fruit too!

We really don't need much of the salsa and pepper jelly but it's nice to have on hand. It might even be an every-other-year type of canning, but they are super great recipes! I found a new salsa recipe I really like that's loaded with spices and garlic and is super thick and chunky! All the veggies came from the garden! I love preserving what we grow!

I like using the pie filling for breakfast crisps/cobblers, as a topping on hot cereal, or rolled up like crepes. I'm hoping it will be nice to have on hand for the mornings we are rushed getting out the door for school.

Other recipes I want to try but am not sure if I will have the energy to do it this year is apple butter, pumpkin butter, pickles, and vegetable soup base. We'll see how much zest I have left after the REAL canning is done!

Back to School!

Yay! The kids have really loved going back to school, and so have I! It's great to be with just Eli and Calvin for a few hours...although Eli wishes he were in school too! Maybe I'll put him in a couple days a week next semester after the new baby comes. We'll see...

Jackson started the first grade. I took him to school and walked him to class and he gave me a big hug and told me I was the best! He is so sweet-- I was supposed to say that to him! It was sad for me to have him away at lunchtime (the first ever!) and I worried how he was doing at school, but when he came home he said lunch at school was his favorite part! He gets to play on the playground before school, has morning track time and afternoon recess. Those are his favorite times. His teacher is Mrs. Warnick and he seems to like her so far. He has several kids from his old Kindergarten class with him again this year, but he also made a few new friends the first day. He's looking forward to the school carnival and school parties!

Zoey has been asking me to teach her to write letters and numbers, and wants to learn to read. She's even asked for homework! She missed the cut-off to get into kindergarten this year, so we are putting her through an alternative Kindergarten program to prep her to be tested into the first grade for next year. It's at the same place she had pre-school last year, so she is excited to see her teachers again. If it doesn't work out, she'll still be right on track and well prepared for Kindergarten! Our goal is to have her reading, writing, and doing simple math by the end of the year. I wouldn't be pushing her, but she's asking to do it..so I'm excited to see how she does!

Berry Good

This is the second year for our blackberries. They have been doing AMAZING!! The bush has been COVERED in huge blackberry clusters, check out the size of them! We had to put netting over the berries to keep the birds out because they were eyeing the deliciousness too. 

Brian has graced us a couple times with the most delicious blackberry cobbler ever. Writing about it makes me want to eat one. The experience starts even while the cobbler is in the oven. The berries give the most wonderful aroma when cooking, and the final product is this gooey-syrupy-bubbly-sweet-an-tart dessert. It's so good, especially with vanilla ice cream on top that starts to melt over the warm cobbler! 

This is Calvin's reaction to the goodness:

 APPROVED! I think it's time to make another cobbler...