blueberries

Yesterday we went blueberry picking. It's not free like the blackberries, however at the U-pick farm it's $1 a pound!!! That's much better than $3 for a pint, which is what they charge if you just want to buy them. We spent about an hour picking. The boys helped for a little while, but then got bored and started diggin in holes and throwing blueberries they found on the ground. I don't know why I didn't take the camera. We ended up picking and buying 6 lbs of blueberries. A couple of lbs went to Nathan and Amy as we offered to pick some for them. We ate some, froze some and saved some for blueberry muffins for breakfast. I'm sure we'll also have some blueberry syrup on blue berry pancakes. And there are some blueberries in out fruit salad tonight. Can you tell I love fruit? We also tried to pick some more blackberries, but the selection isn't great anymore. They are either too ripe, picked through or not ripe enough.

We were hoping that maybe walking around the blueberry farm might induce some contractions. It didn't. It just made me tired. We also tried some spicy food and some more brisk walking last night. I've had a few mild contractions, but nothing consistent or regular. Maybe I need something really spicy.

I figured I'd get a lot of looks today at church, which I did. I expected a lot of "I can't believe you are still here," and I got some of those comments as well. Oh well, what can you do? I've kind of resigned to waiting for a while. I still have Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time. We'll see if I've progressed any at my appointment on Tuesday - Monday is a holiday. Aaron hopes that I'll wait until at least Tuesday now, since that means he'll probably get out of being on call on Friday.

I'm still in a baking mood. Yesterday I made cookies, and today I made bread. Aaron made the muffins this morning. And pesto from the basil he bought yesterday - he went to the farmer's market and bought a bunch of basil for $1.50. I'll post those recipes later. I'd better go for now. The kids are bored.

Humbling

I am so grateful for Jennifer's post yesterday. She posted a picture of herself from a year ago, almost 2 weeks overdue, and she lives in Texas. I really shouldn't be complaining. I was late with David, I don't know why I thought this one would come early. So I will continue to be patient, and remember I really don't have it that bad. She's still as active as ever, which kind of hurts at times. I really don't want to be induced so I will just deal with it. So little Amy come when you are ready - I just hope it's sooner than later. Until then I'll just enjoy some lovely cool weather and some college football.

trying to be patient

Am I really due tomorrow? These last 2 weeks have gone by so slow. We have nothing planned for this weekend. Maybe that was a mistake. Last night I went to Dessert Club (an Enrichment group). I got to meet a lot of new ladies, including one I visit teach. When I told her I was her visiting teacher she began to ask me about my pregnancy and asked what she could do to help. I thought maybe I had misspoken and she thought she was my visiting teacher, but she just genuinely wanted to help. There are a lot of new families in the ward and several of the husbands are medical students. Four of the wives were there last night. It was fun to chat with them, and remember what it was like for us 4 years ago.

This morning Aaron took the boys to rotate the tires on the van and do a little more shopping. We've had some things that we needed to return or exchange, and finally that is done. I stayed home and worked on the budget and put up my feet since they were swelling a lot today. Probably from lack of circulation. We received a wireless router we ordered today, so Aaron has been trying to network the computers. I read all of the library books to the boys in one sitting. Timothy had chosen one called Hi New Baby. I thought it was a cute book. But for some reason when I got about 2 pages from the end *SPOILER alert* (when big sister finally enjoys the baby), I started crying. I could imagine my kids doing the same thing. Being so sweet with their little sister, and wanting to hold her. We also played a few games today and watched some of Planet Earth - the kids love it, and so do we.

This evening we went on a walk hoping to stir up some contractions, but so far just Braxton-Hicks. Now it's about time for the boys to go to bed. So I'd better sign off for now.

Gearing up for school

I've got mixed feelings about David starting school again. I think it will be great for him to get out of the house for the day. He'll love being there and I'm sure he'll learn a lot. Of course Timothy is going to miss him, and I don't have preschool figured out for him yet. I'm not sure what to think about his class. There are 4 1st grade classes. His only has 21 students - not too bad. He got one of the teachers I was hoping for. e didn't get the one known for being disorganized, thank goodness. He also didn't get the one who will be on maternity leave. I think Mrs. W* will be good, although I don't know much about her. I was kind of hoping they would put him into the advanced class even though he's not in the program. It's where most of his friends ended up. So only one of his friends, Chet, is in his class. About 4 are in the advanced class, and two are each of the other classes. I think there are 3 kids in his 1st grade class that were in his Kindergarten class. Oh, and since they have added 2 additional classes at the school this year his class is in a portable.

I am still having issues with the bus system. It is a 45 minute ride this time. The stop is no longer across the street, but down one block and up two blocks. 2 other kids will be picked up at the same time, but it's on a much busier road and next to where all the middle school kids get picked up, and next to a Metro stop. I know of some other students that get picked up on a different bus and it's only a 20 minute ride for them. The pick up time is 30 minutes later. They live only 10 blocks from here. I could walk that easily, or drive if, it was really cold and pouring rain. However the lady at the transportation office doesn't sound like they are willing to switch him to that bus because it's too far from our house. She said because he is a 1st grader they have strict rules about how far they can walk from their house and if they can cross any streets. She's worried about me not being there in time to pick him up. I was just hoping to be able to save on gas, and not have to worry about putting Amy in and out of the car so many times a day. I could carry her in the wrap or push her in the stroller, get some exercise, and not have to stay so long at the school. And he doesn't have to ride the bus everyday either. I wouldn't even have to wait for the bus to pick him up because Sylvia lives right on the corner and her kids will be waiting for the bus too. I don't know Sylvia personally - yet - but Aaron does. She was involved in the PTA at David's school, and works at the Hospital with Aaron, but gets off in time to meet her kids at the bus stop. Her husband is a pediatrician in the same group where my kids go. Sylvia has even offered to drop David off at our house after the bus drops him off in front of her house. I'm trying to figure out how to convince the transportation office that this will work. It makes sense to me. Otherwise I will have to take David to and from school everyday like last year, and while I enjoyed chatting with the other parents, and Timothy enjoyed playing at the playground, I just seems like a big hassle, and it will take a lot more time and gas.

Sorry about the ramblings. Sometimes it helps just to get it all out. It helps to write it down and think it through. I'll leave you with a couple more pictures. Lisa brought the puff painted onesies over and I took some pictures.

these were made by the other ladies at the shower

these are the ones the boys made

can you tell which one David did?
hint: Aaron wrote "Amy" on Timothy's

running around

I wanted to do a little shopping this morning, but Aaron didn't want me to go too far alone. So we all went. Unfortunately JoAnn's didn't have enough fabric for what I wanted. So I'll have to make another trip out there sometime, maybe sooner than later. I might have to go to another location, I wasn't impressed with the selection that one had. We also went to Fred Meyer, to get a few things. I was hoping to find two last items for David's school list. They didn't have one of them. We ran out of time to go to the last store. So I'll have to do that later again. The thing that bothers me is that we drove further to get all 3 stores in one trip, and we ended up purchasing at only one store, Arrrgh!

Aaron was able to go with us because he doesn't have to go to work until Tuesday. Crazy! Dr. S* only has afternoon clinic today - but Aaron has his Continuity Clinic on Thursday afternoons. Dr. S* is also taking tomorrow off. Aaron doesn't have any call this weekend, and Monday is a holiday. So after clinic today he's off until Tuesday. It would be a perfect time to have a baby...... Do you think that will help?

Yesterday Aaron surprised us by coming home at 2:30. So we went out to the locks. We watched the boats and looked for salmon. We saw salmon jumping, but not in the salmon run, just in the lake. Timothy climbed on this thing (I really don't know what it is), and proclaimed -"I'm the king of the world".

I think I caught him mid -"world"

Of course David had to climb on it too.

I swear they have never seen Titanic, it must have been on some other show.

Aaron went to the "happy hour" dinner with the other residents while we made little pizzas at home. After the kid went to bed Aaron made some caramel popcorn and we played Ticket to Ride with Nathan and Amy.

I'll probably post again later today when we find out what class David is in. He is really hoping all of his friends will be in his class. I'm hoping that at least some of them are, and that he has 1 of 2 teachers. Actually there is only one I'd like to avoid, but the other good teacher is due about the same time as me and therefore will not be with the class the entire year. I hope they have a good sub for her class. There's more school stuff on my mind, but I'll discuss it later.

last minute things

Sorry I haven't posted any pictures. My camera is in the hospital bag which is in the car. So If I really want to take pictures I have to go down the stairs and across the street to the car. I have to move everything to the van tomorrow since Aaron will be taking the car to the clinic. I had almost forgotten about his Thursday afternoon clinic.

We still haven't put the infant seat in the van yet. Aaron figures he has the entire to labor and recovery to find time to do it. I've been trying to de-clutter our room - where Amy will sleep. We finally got another small storage unit in the basement. It helped to move things down there and give us more room in our closet. As we were moving boxes I found more baby girl things that I forgot I had purchased. She's well stocked for the first few months. Last night we rearranged our room again to give us more room. What I like best is that I can access all of the drawers without getting squished, or only having 4-6 inches to open the drawers. We'll have to move the cradle when it gets too cold because it is right next to the heat register. I hope we won't have to use that for a while.

I have been loving the weather lately - rain and highs in the 60s!!! Of course Aaron takes all the covers, which is fine by me, since I don't need them. I have my own space heater - I mean the baby in case you didn't get that. David says - "why is is raining so much?" I think he forgot that we live in WA, and it rains a lot here.

Chet is over playing with David and Timothy right now. They are having so much fun. They are playing with Legos and singing Christmas songs. Or rather making up words to "O Christmas Tree." Kids are funny. Tomorrow we find out which class David is in. He is excited to find out who he teacher is and who is in his class.

I made Rice Krispy Treats today. I haven't made those in so long. I do need to make some lunch soon. I also am thinking about emptying some drawers in my room and filling up an empty box - there is still room under the bed. It seems like there are endless projects that I can work on.

I finally finished Breaking Dawn. If I didn't value my sleep right now I would have finished it a week ago. I am surprised that I was that disciplined. I even surprised Aaron when I went to bed when I had only 20 pages left. He was going to bed, and I figured I could wait until morning, although I seriously thought about it all night. I think it was even part of my dreams. I really enjoyed the book. It was fun to read and escape into a make-believe world.

I'll post again tomorrow just let you know I'm still here.

Baby toys

Sunday evening we had FHE about the new baby coming (hopefully this week). We talked about all of the things she will need, and how we can show her that we love her. David decided he could share his toys with her. We mentioned that she won't be able to play with toys for a little while. And he answered, "Yeah, and she needs girl toys."
"What are girl toys?" I asked.
"Barbies" he answered. Where did he come up with that??? I think she'll do just fine with what we have for now. I'm sure she'll get a doll at some point.

David had a friend over today. He was so excited to see Cooper after not seeing anyone from school since the end of June. Tomorrow Chet is coming over. I got a lot done this morning, I might be able to get more done tomorrow too! I have to get his friends over here before school starts, and I'm too busy with a newborn. Maybe then I won't feel so bad sending him over to his friend's houses.

Still here

I had another OB appointment today. Maybe my last (cross your fingers). I dropped the kids of at Jenni C*'s. The kids hadn't seen each other in a long time. Well I guess since Timothy's birthday party. I gave myself a little extra time to run to Target (since she lives so close). Can you believe I survived 2 months without going to Target? I would have bought more if I had more time. I had to stock up on some staples, and get last minutes baby supplies and school supplies. I was just about done when Aaron called. It was 10:30 and he was done until about 1:00 so he wanted to come to the appointment. It would be cutting it close, so I bought what was in the cart and headed for home. We got there right on time and I went up to the office while Aaron parked the car.

I only gained 1 pound last week, so I'm still under my 40 lb total - but not by much. I gave my OB my medical records from ID and my birth plan. She said she'll send those over to the hospital. She said I'm dilated a little - "between a 2 and 3" about 50% effaced. At least that's progress without much pain. So maybe I'll have a Labor day baby! We joked about that a little. Aaron would prefer not to be at a hospital on a day off. We'll see how it goes. However, I most likely won't have my OB at my delivery. She's not on call until next week. She did a lot of calls while people were on vacation the last few weeks, so now she has some time off. All of the OB's in the group are great though, so I'm not worried.

I dropped off Aaron and went to pick up the boys. We ended up staying at Jenni's for lunch. We chatted for a long time and the boys played some more. We didn't end up leaving until about 2:30. We stopped by the bread store on the way home, and the kids each got a free snack. Less than 20 minutes after we got home Aaron was home! This schedule is going to be very nice! Some days he'll have to stay in the ER until about 7:00, but otherwise he'll be home by 4:00 - most days. He'll be done with morning clinic around 10:30 and then he'll be going swimming until lunch time with Dr. S* - it is a Cardiology elective. After noon conference he's back in clinic for a couple of hours. Then he's done for the day.

Aaron is out doing some grocery shopping with Timothy so we will be well stocked. I am planning on freezing a few meals so he doesn't have to worry about it. Not that he isn't capable, but I'd rather him spent his time and attention on the kids while I am recovering.

That's all for today.

Contractions?

I didn't sleep well last night. Yesterday was a beautiful day, and we spent the evening on the beach, and came home for dinner. But after we closed all the windows it was too hot and stuffy for me. I sometimes spend the last hour of sleep on the couch, but last night I was too hot, and didn't want to bother Aaron, so shortly after midnight I took my body pillow put to the couch and opened the back door to let in the cool air. As I was trying to go back to sleep I had a very MILD contraction. Just a little cramping. It only lasted about 20 seconds or so. Then I fell back asleep. I tried not to get too excited about it. I continued to have a few more about every hour or so. But they were so mild I wasn't sure what to make of it.

After 6:00 am this morning I didn't have anymore. Bummer. As much as I was trying not to get too excited I was a little disappointed when they stopped. I've never experienced false labor before, or painful contractions that stopped. When I went into labor with David it took a long time to progress, but my contractions didn't go away. I was induced with Timothy, so there was really no going back once they started.

I'm curious what others have experienced. Did you have false labor? Did you ever go to the hospital only to be turned away. How many times did you have painful (even very mild) contractions before you actually went into labor?

The other thing on my mind is that I have no idea when this baby is coming, but I now have had 4 friends with due dates AFTER mine that have already had their babies!!! Please let me be next! I'm not bitter - really, I'm just a little anxious. In some ways it would be fine if she came late. At least I'd be able to take David to school on the first day. If she comes this week I might have Aaron do it, I'm not sure I want to bring a newborn out so early, I might not be up for walking around yet. I don't have family coming anytime soon, so it's not like they would come and miss her if she were late. And if she's really late I could go the the BYU football game - OK Aaron has already told me that is not an option. If I haven't had her by then the game just might put me in labor!

So while we all wonder when little Amy will make her debut enjoy some pictures from our beach trip yesterday.

They love digging in the sand and pouring water in their hole

Aaron even got into it.

This is one of 3 cruise ships we saw leaving port.

Lots of sail boats out last night

And these are the pennies the boys got to smash at the Science Museum

one week and counting

I have one more week - or so left of this pregnancy. My OB was wrong, she didn't come by the weekend. So Aaron got to enjoy his vacation rather than spend it at the hospital and running the household. Thursday he has his senior retreat. It's hard to think that he is a "senior resident". Since his residency is only 3 years the last 2 are his "senior years". The retreat focused on life after residency. They discussed all of their options: private practice, fellowship, working for the CDC - I didn't know that was an option, and it sounds interesting to Aaron. So we have lots of decisions to make. Aaron is still interested in Endocrine. We'd have to decided where though. Going back to TX is an option, but we are uncertain of the future of the Pediatric program there since Dr. F* resigned in May and then passed away last week. There are a lot of things to consider. Fellowship applications are due in December.

While Aaron was gone for the day the boys and I cleaned, played, and went to the library. I also got some more Thank-you cards done. I still have to send them out though. Aaron got back just before 5:00 and we made dinner, hung out with the kids and put them to bed. Nathan and Amy brought Evelyn up and we played Carcassonne. Evelyn was an angel and slept most of the time, otherwise she just stared at everything. I have an adorable niece! I can't wait for her to meet baby Amy.

Yesterday Aaron worked on the car for a while. We are still trying to figure out if we can fix the noises it makes. I tried to reorganize our bedroom and make it livable with an infant. I took the boys to the park and let them ride bikes and scooters, and then left when the unsupervised kids were using some foul language - the kids were only about 9 or 10. I love how close the park is, but I hate that there are so many unsupervised kids that make the park a bad influence. Most of the kids are fine, but some are just mean, rude and brats.

When we got home we had lunch and then Aaron took David out for the day. They went to put in some service hours at DI and pick up some tools and a part for the car. Timothy and I hung out for the afternoon. We played, and then I read while he played. I fell asleep for about 45 minutes and was glad that the house was still intact when I woke up. Timothy however had neglected to get redressed after going to the bathroom.

Aaron wanted to get some fishing in before his vacation ran out, so he left after he and David got back. He didn't catch anything, but it wads great to be out in the river. He hasn't done any fly fishing since we left Utah. So the boys watched a video and then we had dinner and played until bed time. They went down nicely and I got to read and watch some Olympics. Aaron got home around 9:00 and then watched the Gold Medal Soccer game on the internet. He was of course rooting for Argentina which won the gold, after a 1-0 game. We went to bed a little a late. Oh well.

Today Aaron is putting in a new power steering pump in the car and the boys and I have been playing Chutes & Ladders and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. I'm also getting ready for Valerie and Christian to come over. It's been a while since we've seen them, so it should be a fun day.

showers and flowers

I think I had better blog everyday so I don't get people wondering if I've had the baby.

The last two evenings I had baby showers. My visiting teachers planned a shower for me on Tuesday (sorry I didn't get any pictures). It was just perfect. Very simple and laid back. I got to spend some time with friends, eating good food (ice cream and cupcakes) and chatting. I am stocking up on little girl stuff now. Thank-you Julie, Shellie - and Sheila even though you couldn't be there.

Last night we went to a "happy hour" at Lisa's house. The residents have them about once a month, but it's usually at a restaurant or bar. Aaron said since it was at Lisa's house the boys were invited. I was a little confused - but whatever, it was a chance to get out of the house. I soon realized it was a surprise baby shower for me. Lisa likes doing that - surprise parties. She had a wonderful curry dinner and people brought other fabulous food like a white bean dip- with lots of garlic- Thanks Emily; homemade cupcakes with blueberry frosting - Thanks Pia; and a yummy chocolate cake with a frosting sunflower in the middle - Thanks Lou and Jim.

Lou also planned some fun baby shower games. I've done the baby food game where you take the labels off and guess which food it is, well she had us taste it. The guys got a kick out of it too. They just smelled the peas, but didn't eat them. Did I mention that the guys were invited too? Jim, Ben, John and Aaron were good sports! David liked the pears and finished them off after the game was over. We also decorated white long sleeve onesies. David and Timothy really enjoyed that, so they each did their own, and the rest of the ladies had to share the remaining two. David's had LOTS of puff paint on it. And Timothy's was mostly scribbles. I'll have to post pictures after I get them from Lisa. Lou also did the guess the melted candy bar in the diaper game. It was fun for the residents mostly because they haven't been to many baby showers. Borah said it was her first one! We stayed up way too late for the boys, but they were fairly well behaved. Timothy noticed it was getting dark and said, "It's past my bed time. I need to go to bed." It was so cute.

Other than that we have been having fun around town. Yesterday Aaron took the boys to the Science Museum while I worked on the budget - I neglected that while we were in Idaho. Aaron took some great pictures.

A flying pig?

Timothy riding the flying pig

They watched a few fun demonstrations, and they got to smash pennies. They had a machine that shot pennies into a brick wall and the pennies would bend or dent. They brought the pennies back to show me. There must have been a lot of force in that machine. When I find the pennies I'll take some pictures.

I got the budget done and some Thank-you cards while I watched the volleyball game. When the boys got home Aaron and I got ready to do the hospital tour. It was pouring rain, and we were a little late. I was glad to see the hospital and figure out where we are supposed to go, and find out exactly what's in the rooms and what's available. Aaron asked the taboo question about internet access. Apparently they are supposed to discourage bringing a laptop, but if he happened to have one, yes, he would have internet access. I just wanted to know how soon I could email out pictures. The tour went a little long, and we had to hurry home to drop off the babysitter and make it the surprise baby shower.

And lastly I am enjoying some beautiful flowers. While I was at my appointment on Monday Aaron and the boys picked out these lovely flowers.


And Sheila provided these carnations for the baby shower on Tuesday, and now I get to enjoy them at home.


So that's all for now.

Lots of activities

We've been busy. Sunday was a laid back day. I didn't do much cleaning or unpacking. We went to church, and it was great to see our friends again. It was a little strange not going to Primary. I enjoyed going to Sunday School with Aaron, and I enjoyed Relief Society too. There are so many new families. I don't know how I am going to get to know them all.

We had a pork roast for dinner and Amy and Nathan brought Evelyn up and joined us for dinner. Nathan was kind enough to play a game of Sorry with David. Amy and I swapped labor stories. Now I'm getting nervous and excited about the labor part. Later we drove to a nearby park to take a walk and check out the blackberries. We were hoping the long winter would allow us to join in the harvest. Last year the best weekend to pick blackberries was the 1st weekend in August. We were lucky, and the blackberries are ripe right now.

Monday morning we went back to the park and picked lots and lots of blackberries.
Timothy ate more than he saved. I didn't pick very many because it hurt my back to keep leaning over, and I didn't have an old long sleeve shirt that fit me. I wasn't going to ruin a nice maternity shirt. Aaron picked most of the load, and David was a great help. After about 90 minutes of picking it started raining, so we left. It's a good thing too because I had an OB appointment to go to. I thought it was at 11:10, but at 9:50 I realized it was at 1o:10 (next week is at 11:10). So we had to drop everything and go. We didn't have time to drop the kids at the babysitter, which worked out since she was in a meeting right then. So Aaron took the boys to a store for a few minutes while I went to my appointment. I was only 5 minutes late, and they got me right in. No waiting at all.

We went home, Aaron went over to the hospital to pick up his mail. I ate some lunch and then went to the grocery store while the kids ate lunch when Aaron came back. Aaron had started processing the blackberries by the time I got back.

Blackberries in the steamer

We decided to do just blackberry syrup this year. Last year we didn't make enough syrup, and too much jam - we still have 6 jars. We ended up with almost 14 cups of blackberry juice which made 8 pints of syrup! Yum!

After FHE we planned the things we wanted to do the rest of the week. We have to take advantage of Aaron's time off. Today Aaron got up early to watch the Argentina vs Brazil soccer game online - Aaron was pleased that Argentina won. I already told you how I spent my morning - nesting. Aaron took the boys to the park to ride bikes and scooters.

One of the things we planned to do this week was eat lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. They have been filling up a jar with dry beans as they do good deeds and this was their reward (We ate the bean for dinner tonight). They had a lot of fun eating pizza, and playing games. They loved winning tickets. Timothy even got 77 tickets from one game by pressing a button at the right time. Pure luck!

David had fun riding the helicopter bike.

Timothy rode the trolley. Sorry it's a little blurry.

The kids got their prizes, but as we were leaving David wanted to play one more game with a penny he found. I was coming back from the bathroom and told David the penny wouldn't work and that we were leaving. I didn't realize he had set his prizes down on the game, I figured he gave them to Aaron. So they got left behind. We didn't realize it until we were halfway home. It's a sad lesson to learn.

When we got home the kids played on the computer and Aaron and Nathan went to the driving range to hit some golf balls. That's it, I'm caught up I can't believe it! I'm sure I'll have more to blog about tomorrow, if I get around to it!

nesting

I think I am finally nesting. Even though I have a fabulous novel waiting for me, I spent the morning doing laundry and putting away all the junk in our room. I started packing my hospital bag. It's kind of hard to pack the camera just yet. And I don't know what to do for music yet. I was trying to figure out what outfit to bring for Amy to go home in. I hadn't really taken inventory, so I brought out everything I have so far and organized them by size. I took off the tags of the newborn, 3 month and 3-6 month clothes and put them in the drawer. The rest I hung back in the closet. My kids tend to come out big and grow quickly, so I have all the newborn stuff on top so I don't forget to have her wear an outfit before she grows out of it. Looking at all of the clothes gets me really excited to have a little girl. I have forgotten how tiny newborns really are.

I also want to ask Aaron to install the carseat base in the van. I took off the cover of the stroller because it needs some serious washing after sitting outside for so long. Part of the reason I am nesting is because I had an OB appointment yesterday. I think my OB is overly optimistic. After she checked me (" between a 1 and a 2; still long, but soft") she said she think the baby will come this week. I don't believe her, but what if she's right? I am definitely not ready in every way. So I'll be busy this week.

I have a small shower tonight with some friends in the ward. I already have a short list of people I need to send thank-you notes to. I'd better get on that. I haven't even thought about baby announcements!!! I'd better go because I have a lot to do.

Pictures and the trip home

Here are the pictures from yesterday's post, and some from the trip home

The firefighters lowering the bucket

Bryan and Timothy waiting for the candy drop

Brittany and David waiting somewhat patiently

David getting a turn in the bucket.

Timothy playing on the tractor in the barn

The Alpaca

Friday morning came way too quickly. Aaron got home around 6:15. I had just been woken up by Timothy, and was hoping to go back to sleep. Aaron called since he no longer had keys to the apartment, and I went upstairs to let him in. He told me I could go back to sleep while he got things started. I tried to sleep, but I think I may have gotten a few minutes (maybe 15) of sleep. The kids were up at 6:30! I finally got up around 7:15. We packed up the van and did last minute cleaning. I called up Sara and she dropped by one last time on the way to work.

The van was more full than on the way to ID

At least I had plenty of foot room, the boys didn't. Then again their feet don't reach the floor.

We planned to meet my sister Tina C* and her husband John and daughter Elizabeth at the temple open house. They are on a road trip and we were glad our paths crossed. The timing was perfect and we got there about 5 minutes apart. Aaron and I traveled in our church clothes and changed the boys into theirs when we got there. We sat in the chapel for about 10 minutes (enough time for a bathroom break) before we were ushered into a room to watch a short video. We really enjoyed walking through the temple. The boys got a little restless toward the end. David held onto the brochure and pointed out the pictures as we went into the corresponding room. I didn't realize how big I was until I passed a full length mirror in the temple. Maybe it was just the dress I was wearing.

After the open house we found a shady area at a nearby school and ate lunch with the C* family. We got to spend a few hours with them and took a few pictures before we went our separate ways. This was the only one with all of us facing the camera.

After a delicious lunch we continued our drive. Aaron somehow convinced the boys that they should try to take a nap so they could stay up late and go swimming when we got to the hotel. They both got their blankets and fell asleep. I was glad they took a nap then, and not on our last leg of the trip. They slept until we got off the freeway. We fueled up and then arrived at Jen and Edwin's. We hadn't seen the B* family since we left over a year ago. We were glad they moved and we could visit them on the way back. They had gone to a lot of effort to make some pizza dough, and we all made a variety of pizzas. Then we went for a walk to feed the ducks (they weren't very hungry) and throw rocks in the river. The kids had fun playing together. It was the first time we had met Anne - she is adorable and Grace is as spunky as ever - what a cutie.

We took a picture, but in an effort to be seen David kind of covered up Grace oops!

From there we said good-bye and headed to our hotel. It was then that Aaron decided to bring out Breaking Dawn. So I got in a little bit of reading. WE checked into the hotel and Aaron and the boys went swimming while I read some more. It was getting late 9:00, so we decided it was time to put the kids to bed. Neither cooperated very well, but by 9:45 Timothy was asleep. David did not want to go to sleep. He stayed up and watched some Olympics with us, but he didn't fall asleep until we finally turned out the lights at 11:00!!!

I didn't sleep very well at all. Morning came way too early. The kids were still up by 7:00. We showered, got dressed, ate some messy peaches and hit the road by 8:00. We had some more breakfast in the car, and started a movie for the kids. Unfortunately they got tired of driving very quickly. In the middle of the movie they were bored and wanted something to do. Uh-oh! We tried to keep them entertained, but they were sick of traveling. We made a few pit stops including a Costco. We picked up some pictures we had ordered, and got a pizza for lunch. Then it was back on the road. We didn't even stop after that so we made it home in good time. The last 100 miles or so were a little uncomfortable for me, but I just wanted to get home.

We arrived in 94 degree weather with no air conditioning. But we were pleased to find the house very clean and in order. Better than we left it in fact. Thank-you to the B* family who lived here for two weeks while awaiting our little niece Evelyn. They left us a nice note and gift, and new cutting boards - I guess we needed some new ones. We unloaded the van and unpacked a little. Then we went down to meet Evelyn when she woke up. The boys were a little too excited, and Aaron had to take them upstairs after a while.

I stayed a little longer to talk to Nathan and Amy and then I took headed upstairs and then we went to the BBQ I already mentioned. So I'm not quite caught up, but I'll have to post later. I have some more cleaning up to do.

Back to Wednesday

Wednesday I did a little grocery shopping with the boys. Just some fresh fruit for the trip home, and a few bulk items (Parmesan cheese and Craisins are cheap in bulk) for home. And some bulk candy too for the ride home. They didn't have any boxes though. We needed some boxes to pack all the extra stuff we bought. I didn't feel like having a ton of plastic sacks in the back of the van - they don't stack very well.

After we got back from the store we headed over to Mom's. We got ready to go to the fair. David really wanted to dress up a potato for fair. The theme was Fun in the Sun and they were asking for potatoes dressed up as "beach bums". Bryan and Brittany had made one, so David wanted to as well. After we gave in and let him he then decided he didn't want to enter it in the fair because he wouldn't be able to take it home. Everything entered has to stay at the fair until Saturday and we were leaving Friday. So we didn't enter it. Brandon needed a ride to work, so we went to the fairgrounds and Brandon took the car. Grandma P* came with us. We all rode home in the van. The kids had a blast at the fair. First we let Bryan and Brittany enter their "beach bums" and "luau vegetable" - they dressed up some yellow squash. then we headed over to the candy drop. The fire department brings out a ladder truck, extends the ladder over the lawn and drops candy from the bucket. First they lower the bucket all the way to the ground and let in 3 kids, so they can help. They get two quart size bags of candy to throw. When the candy is gone they lower the bucket and three more kids, with two more bags of candy get on. They continued until everyone who wanted to got to ride up in the bucket and throw candy. I eventually let David go up, but decided to keep Timothy on the ground. He got thirsty anyway, so Grandma took him to get a drink. He didn't ride in the ladder bucket, but he did get his picture taken with a real cowboy!

After the candy drop we headed back into the air conditioned building - thank goodness - and looked at all of the ribbons the family had won. There are so many categories to enter, and it's such a small fair, that they often win or place in most of the categories they enter. So mom got lots of blue ribbons for her vegetables, and the kids got ribbons for their 4-H entries like pot holders, and crochet and sewing. It's not too hard when only 4 or 5 kids in your age group enter. And they give away more than one blue ribbon some times. But only one sweepstakes ribbon is given out. Those are worth more money and you get coupons or gift certificates with them. Brittany won 3 or 4 and Mom got one for one of her vegetables, and Bryan got one for his pot holders. Grandma P* got a lot of blue and red ribbons for all of her quilts. and a few sweepstakes as well. After looking at the entries we headed over to the barn with the physics show. David loved that, I couldn't even coax him away with lunch. After the show was over and the lunch was eaten we went to see the animals. They had fun in the petting zoo and seeing the pigs, the cows and the Alpaca. Eventually we headed back to the air conditioned building for the drawings. They started at 3:00 and took way too long in my opinion, and none of us won anything. We finally got back to Grandma's at 4:00.

That night we had a little BBQ, so Dad picked up Aaron on his way home from work and we spent one last evening altogether. Then it was back home for bedtime. Aaron and I worked on packing what we could. We went to bed a little late.

Thursday Aaron took the van to work and I stayed home to pack, make cookies (for us and Tysie - Aaron's nurse) clean and finish preparations for our trip on the computer. I let the kids watch too much TV and when I told them to turn it off they went berserk. I was a little frustrated, I had asked David to sweep the floor - since he wanted to mop it, and he did, but not very well, and then he got the floor really wet. I took Timothy downstairs with me to keep him off the kitchen floor. He wasn't very helpful down stairs. I just wanted to finish vacuuming downstairs so I wouldn't have to do that after the kids went to bed that evening. I had given Timothy the broom to sweep the bathroom floor, but he was just swinging it around. I was trying to get this all done before meeting Aaron at the park for lunch at 12:15. I heard some one call for me and I yelled an impatient "What?!!!" and Mom and answered, "Oh are you down stairs?" Apparently David had let them in. So Mom graciously offered to help and she vacuumed and Bryan and Brittany helped Timothy sweep. Then David came down with the mop. I went up to get the lunch ready, and heard Timothy scream and cry. David had gotten the floor really wet and Timothy slipped and bit his lip. Just what I was trying to avoid. I gave up and decided it was time to go. It was already 12:15. So we grabbed our stuff and headed to the park.

It was Beverly's idea since she hadn't spent much time with Aaron. So Mom drove us there to meet Beverly and her boys. Dad met us there as well. We all enjoyed a lunch and shared most of it. Aaron got to say good-bye to everyone and then went back to work. Beverly left to run errands, and Berkeley - her 9 year old came with us back to Mom's. The kids played together until it was time to go to the fair again. We went for just the drawings this time. We put Beverly and her kids' names in since they were running a little late. The drawings went a little faster this time. And Gavin (her oldest) and Beverly each won something. David was a little disappointed that he didn't win. But Mom said she would put his name in for Friday's drawing and would send him the prize if he won. The kids wanted to see the animals again and then wanted to go on the wagon ride. I didn't feel like being jostled around, so I went to look at more things that had been entered. Bryan and Brittany had won ribbons for their "sea creatures" they had entered, and Beverly won 4 blue ribbons for scrapbook pages. I don't think I mentioned that the boys had painted rocks and entered them in the fair. David got a pink ribbon - no prize money for that, but Timothy's had gotten a red ribbon - he won $2!!!

I'm going to jump ahead here a bit, but it fits. Friday they went back to the fair for the drawings and David did get picked, so Mom picked out a little tractor toy for him. I also got picked, but there wasn't much selection, so Mom picked out a tool set for Aaron. Her name got drawn as well as Grandma P*. Brittany got picked on Saturday. Beverly won a big drawing on Saturday- $20 worth of sausage or something. Mom also won the "fastest hook in the west" crocheting contest. In all they got a lot of money for all the ribbon and lots of coupons and gift certificates. How fun.

Well, after the fair on Thursday we came back to Mom's and got ready for dinner. She was really hoping her corn would be ready before we left, but she only found 3 ears that were ready enough, so she cut them in thirds and we ate them for dinner, along with potatoes from the garden. We let the kids play for a bit after dinner, but then I needed to take them home and put them to bed if we were going to have a pleasant drive. Mom drove us home. I called Sara so she could come over. We all put the boys to bed and Mom and Sara helped me clean and pack most everything else. Well, mostly I packed while they cleaned. Mom went home a little after 9:00. There wasn't much left to do, and I was so grateful for their help. Sara stayed a little longer as we chatted, and I thought of a few more things to do. Finally she left and I went to bed. I still had a million thoughts going through my head. It took me a while to get to sleep, and every time I woke up I thought of things I needed to do in the morning. It was not a very restful sleep.

Well, now it's really late, and I don't want to upload pictures, so tomorrow I might get to post pictures, and maybe tell you about our drive home. But then again, I have an OB appointment, we will be picking blackberries, and Breaking Dawn is calling to me (I've read 220 pages so far). I need to cancel my hold at the library.

Where to start?

I think I'm backed up all the way from Tuesday!! The kids slept in a lot longer than I had expected, so I didn't get to the grocery store, like I had planned. So we hung out at our little apartment and I tried to start packing. At 11:00 I had an appointment for an oil change. Usually at a dealership it takes about 45 minutes - I don't mind waiting that long because it's cheaper with our prepaid plan. The kids are usually entertained with the things I bring and the TV in the waiting room.

Well, I'm just glad I won't be going back to that dealership again. I got there 10 minutes early and had to wait a few minutes to be helped- not a big deal. But the the lady kept messing up the information. She had to reenter the VIN 4 or 5 times! She went out and checked it. Every time she messed up she had to ask for help from her co-worker. She obviously hadn't worked there long. But she had to wait for him to get off the phone or finish with another customer. She kept blaming it on writing the VIN down wrong, but then he pointed out that first digit was a 1 not an I. So 30 minutes later - no exaggeration- we get to the waiting room. By now the kids are completely bored with drawing on the paper I had brought. I take the kids to the bathroom, and get drinks from the drinking fountain. How come coffee is free, but you have to pay for everything else? There is a TV in the waiting room, but it's up in the corner, and there is no remote. So the kids are bored to death. It takes 20 minutes for them to get the van into the garage - I could see them drive it in. They are done in 20 minutes - hooray. I know they have to finish the paper work, so I wait. I call my brother - to wish him a happy birthday and to give the kids something to do. I'm still waiting. 20 minutes after I see them park my van in the lot, I decide to find out what's taking so long. The paper work is still sitting on a desk with the account "not closed out", and the lady who is supposed to do it - oh she's gone to lunch. I was furious! About this time Mom calls and wonders where we are since we are supposed to meet her for lunch and it's now 12:30. How long would I have been there if I hadn't gone to the front desk??? Since I have a prepaid plan I convince them that I can take the van and she can close out the account later. Finally I am on my way at 12:45!!!! Horrible customer service!!!! I will never go there again!

Anyway - the rest of the day was great. We picked up Mom, Bryan and Brittany - she let Brandon take the car since we were so late. We went to a park and had a picnic lunch. Other than that the kids had a lot of fun just playing at Grandma's house. We left around 5:30. We stopped at our place for a few minutes. I got changed into nicer clothes and got a few things to entertain the boys, and then took them to Aunt Sara's house. She fed them dinner (David kept saying - "my favorite" to everything she brought out! - how cute), and babysat them while Aaron and I went out to dinner with a couple of the doctors from the clinic. We were a bit late, but the first ones there. Dr. D* and his wife came, and eventually Dr. B* came - she had told Aaron she would be later because she had to finish things up at the clinic. So the 5 of us enjoyed a very delicious - and very expensive dinner. I had the pheasant wrapped in prosciutto, and the rice had white truffles (mushrooms) in it.

Well, the kids are hungry, and so am I so I'll post more later.

We're home

We arrived yesterday in good time. But as soon a we got home it was a flurry of activity. We never really stopped. We started unpacking and stopped when the kids were fighting over toys and talking back. We needed to get out of our hot apartment. Did I mention it was 90 degrees and we don't have air conditioning? So we went to an engagement/ house warming party for a fellow resident of Aaron's. It was great to see friends again. Everyone was amazed at how big I was. It was nice not to have to fix dinner, although for the first 30 minutes I was constantly reminding the boys how to behave. The house warming part was welcoming their 3 month old Doberman puppy, Mano. The kids would not leave that poor dog alone. They kept wanting to chase and and throw the chew toys to him. Mano was a little scared of them, and I don't blame him. After a while they spent most of the time outside looking for spiders in the bushes.
We headed home at 8:00 - 9:00 Idaho time - and put the kids to bed. Aaron and unpacked some more, then gave up and went to bed. It was late. But you know what?!!! It was about the best I've slept in a long time. I guess it's nice just to have my old bed back! And my body pillow!

I have so much to catch up on, so hopefully I can do that in the next few posts. But I thought I'd let you guys know we made it back to WA with baby still where she should be. Although now I worry that because we fretted over her coming early, now she'll come a week late! I am so ready for her to come - well, physically and emotionally. In reality I don't have my hospital bag packed, or her clothes ready, or anyone set up to take the boys. But other than that, after today (when the house is back in order) she can come any time and I would be fine with that.

heading home

Just so you know, we are part way back to WA. We are staying in Oregon for one night and should to be back home in WA tomorrow evening. I have lots to say, but it might take me a while to recap this past week - I have a bit of a distraction. Aaron bought me Breaking Dawn, and gave it to me about an hour away from our destination tonight. So I will try to balance unpacking, blogging, getting ready for baby Amy's arrival, spending time with the kids and reading. Aaron's only request was that I pay some attention to him too! He does have a week of vacation. It might take me a while to finish the book - or maybe I'll finish it quickly and then concentrate on everything else hmmmm. Well I should get back to my book, I guess I'll read blogs tomorrow, or not.

Happy Birthday Mike

Tuesday was my brother Mike's birthday. He is 19 - I can't believe it! I was 12 when he was born. He finished up a year at BYU and has been home for the summer. He is really close to submitting his mission papers - gotta get those wisdom teeth out first. Mike goes by William or Will and has since about 1st grade. But he was Mikey growing up and will always be Mike to me. It's a good thing he'll answer to either name. I remember thinking that Mikey was my responsibility when I was in Jr high. I used to get up with him in the night and carry him around like he was mine.

Mike has always been a "divergent thinker" as my dad would call it. He has done very well in school and has lots of friends. He has quite the sense of humor and loves an intelligent conversation. He adores his little nieces who live in the same household for now. He is great with little kids! He also spoils my kids with cool science gifts! When he was back at BYU he would call me all the time while walking to and from work or school. He's not just a great brother, but a great friend too. Happy Birthday Mike, I'm glad I got to talk to you on Tuesday!

more Idaho fun

On Monday I had another OB appointment. Good news: Group B strep was negative, and I haven't really dilated any ("tight 1" as he called it). Everything looks good, although we are still making a list of all of the hospitals on the way back. We are splitting up the trip - about half on Friday and half on Saturday. Aaron would love to just drive straight through, but for my sanity, and in order to visit a few people, we are making a few extra stops.

Monday evening we went out to TJ's family's farm. Sara thought the boys would enjoy seeing the farm, and they did. She was also able to see her fiance, and we were able to meet his family, or some of it anyway. I took a few pictures, but then the batteries died. They are a little out of order - oh well.

David fishing in the pond next to the house.

Timothy wanted to feed the horses.

Everyone watching the fish (trout) jump after Valerie (TJ's mom) fed them.

The fish had already been fed, but they ate it up anyway. However they weren't hungry by the time the fishing poles were brought out.

Timothy walked around with the cattail Valerie gave him. (TJ had just arrived from bringing in a truck load of grain)

Then he fed the cattail to the horses - they loved it, and he went back for more.

The boys also got to see the chickens and got a few eggs which they had for breakfast on Tuesday. Valerie also fed them banana bread and popsicles. David fed apples to the horses and we watched them put grain in the silos. They had fun, and then Sara treated us to a great burger restaurant. They had rootbeer ice cream cones for 50 cents. We only ordered 4 because I figured I would share with someone since we were all stuffed. The only one that finished the entire cone was timothy. I helped David with his, but still couldn't finish it. It was a fun evening.

More to come....

almost caught up

So Friday morning we got up and enjoyed a great waffle breakfast. Aaron arrived a little after 9:00 am. We planned to go bowling, but apparently the schedule online is not the current schedule, so we ended up at another park, where the kids played for an hour and then got lunch. After we got back to Grandma's the kids played some more and then Aaron and Mom went shopping. We've found some great deals while we've been here - we are going to need a couple of extra boxes to get everything back home!

While we were getting ready for dinner I had a little scare. I was having trouble breathing and had some chest pains. Not labor pains, but I was so uncomfortable, and sweaty. The pain wasn't bad enough that I was crying, but I was worried, and I scared Mom and Aaron half to death. After about 10 minutes of this we decided to go to the hospital. It was 5:30, so the OB's office was closed. Not even 5 minutes into the drive the episode subsided. We decided it wasn't worth going to the hospital, so we went to the store - to use the blood pressure machine and get some things for dinner the next evening. My blood pressure was fine. I'm not sure what that was. But I feel fine now, the baby is moving normal, and it hasn't happened again. I scared everyone, and I felt bad, and hopefully it doesn't happen again, but if there is a next time we won't wait to go. Maybe my OB can clear it up tomorrow.

When we got back we had a great dinner and watched part of the Summer Olympics opening ceremonies before we headed back to our place. We put the kids to bed and Sara came over. We watched more of the opening ceremonies and played a game. Aaron was exhausted and went to bed early. Sara and I stayed up talked wedding plans and stuff while watching TV. It was a late night.

Saturday was a busy day. First we went to watch Brandon participate in a small triathlon. Aaron saw a couple of friends from high school, so we got to talk to them. After Brandon finished the run and started the bike race (the swimming was last in the competition) we left (and gave Mom and Dad the camera). Here are a few pictures that were taken.

Brandon playing with his GPS tracker watch thingy.

Brandon at the start of the race.

Brandon taking off on the bike portion.

Brandon making an exhausted turn in the pool.

Brandon finally done!!!!

Brandon ended up placing 3rd - out of 4 - in his age group and 16th - out of about 30- overall in the men's competition. Not bad considering he decided to do this about 2 weeks ago and hadn't even practiced swimming. We stopped by a rummage sale on the way to Grandma's and the boys each found a toy for a $1. There was a founder's day celebration, so we went to the parade - It was close enough to walk to.

When Timothy saw the flag he automatically put his hand on his heart - no one even reminded him to do it! How precious!

The kids got a ton of candy (we haven't even finished the candy from the Pioneer Day Parade). They enjoyed the parade and then played back at Grandma's, while we watched a bit of the Olympic events. Sara came ove to hang out with us so I waited for he at the house while most everyone went to the park to check out the booths and possibly win a shed -they didn't win, but they got ice cream and balloons. We decided to try bowling again since we had the right schedule. Mom and I didn't bowl but Sara, Aaron, Bryan, Brittany, David and Timothy did and it was fun. I took a few pictures, but I didn't get very good ones from the back.





After bowling we went back to Grandma's and ate ribs for dinner. We had packed to spend the night, so we said good-bye to Sara when she left and put the kids to bed on time. We played Blokus, drank hot chocolate from El Salvador, and ate popcorn.

And now we are almost caught up. Today Mom made scones for breakfast and the kids played around. Aaron had promised someone he'd visit the Spanish ward so he left around 9:00am. I gave the kids baths around 10:00 and got them ready for church. Aaron came home about then. I was exhausted (both kids had woken up during the night) so I took a nap for about 45 minutes. When I woke up Aaron had already fed the boys lunch and had a lunch ready for me. I was so grateful. Church went well. It was hard to believe it was our last Sunday in this ward. Next week we'll be back in WA!!! We ran into two of Aaron's friends in thee hallway - one visiting the ward and the other had just moved into the ward that meets before us. So we chatted out in the hall and missed part of sunday school! Oops.

After church we ate dinner with Beverly's family and Grandma P*. We got to stay until about 7:00 when Aaron had to go so he could meet a child coming into the ER. We got back, Aaron left for work, I put the kids to bed, and have been blogging pretty much since then. I might be able to read all of my blogs and emails before I am exhausted, but we'll see. Aaron is taking the computer in the morning, so my next chance will be tomorrow night. I have to upload pictures, so maybe I can read in between that!