Lucky Girl

I thought I would update how the week went. Dallin did an awesome job with no-TV week. We were really blessed with mostly nice weather so we spent a lot of time at the park and in the backyard. Dallin enjoyed hitting the ball around in the front yard too.

We also spent a lot of time reading, which was wonderful. Dallin had such a good attitude about it that we rewarded him by going to Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday. Jeff didn't think we had enough time to throw it into an already busy day, but he was amazed at how quickly Dallin could spend 20 tokens!

Some of the highlights of the week:

-Reconnecting with my kids, reading books, not fighting over the TV.
-Spending lots of time with Sarah and Baby Alice. I LOVE holding her.(Alice, not Sarah, ha ha)
-Watching my kids play together so well.
-A mom cat fight at McDonalds. Great entertainment! (Another blog for another day!)
- Baby shower girls night out with great friends.
- Cute clothes sent by my sister.
-Cute outfit sent by my good friend Angi.
-A nap while Sarah took Dallin to the park. (Isn't SHE the new mom?!)
-A date with Jeff to an Elders Quorum social. I love when people get to see what a great guy Jeff is.
-After the week was over, my little brother let us open the Wii that Jeff picked up from Costco. We have a month to enjoy it before it goes home with my Mom. Thanks Erik. (Although, Jeff is afraid it is going to send me into labor!)

And the best news of all is that my dad is going to come out for the baby blessing. He is not big into traveling, but I really wanted him to be here. I was nervous to ask because I know his energy level is not that great right now and I didn't want it to be a burden. But now that I know he is coming, I am so excited!! It will mean the world to me to have him there. I feel so lucky to have him as a father. He is truly one of the most amazing people I know. He is nonjudgmental and so generous with his time. He was always supportive of me, and he is the first person I want to call when I run a race or accomplish anything. He never missed a game or event in high school and encouraged all my goals. He has always been so sweet to my mom and a great dad. I can't wait to have him here.



I also am so lucky to have a mom who is willing to come out to help me with the baby. She will fly out 2 days before the baby is born and then she will take care of Dallin and Emily so that I can recover and focus on the baby. She is amazing when she comes and the kids love her and are so excited to spend time with her. I am truly on top of the world right now. Now, if we can only get these 3 weeks to speed by...

TV Turnoff Week and my Commitment

I am recording this because I want to be held accountable. Also, I would LOVE ideas from any of you. This week is National TV turnoff week. For 7 days, you commit to not turn on the TV. We did this last year and it really helped me to cut down on our TV time in general. Unfortunately, pregnancy has allowed me to become lazy in this area again. So, I want my kids and I (and my hubby) to remember what we liked to do before we watched so much TV. I have been preparing them for a few weeks and we talked about it tonight. I know this will not be easy, but I am excited for the challenge. Anyone up for this with me?

We decided that we will not watch TV or play X box. We can use the computer for a total of an hour each day. 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. I am going to actually unplug the TV and hide the little DVD player. I am a little worried about Emily because she is too young to really understand why we are doing this and I am sure it will be a fight, but I know it will be worth it.

I have had some great spiritual experiences this week, and I know by turning off the TV, I will allow myself to have more. I went to a great Stake Women's Conference yesterday. One of the speakers talked about "Finding joy in our life." She told us that it is up to us to find our happiness. One of the suggestions was to keep a gratitude journal where you write down 3 things you are grateful for each day. I am going to do this. Also, she said when you think of something nice about someone else, say it. This seems obvious, but there are many times I think of a compliment and never say it out loud. So, my goal is to say it right when I think of it. I really want to take advantage of this week and use my time to make my life and the lives of others better. Wish me luck!! I will update how it goes.

Tulip Festival, Easter, etc.

Okay, I really need to post more often!! I couldn't help but post today. It was such a beautiful spring day and I had a wonderful time with my kids. First, there was no preschool, so Dallin was able to come to class with me at the YMCA and I always love having him there. Then we went and had a picnic at the park and on the way there, I got a crazy idea that we should go to the Tulip Festival. One of my friends was driving by and I told her my plan and she said, "Let's go!" I love that attitude! So, we put all the kids in her van and headed about 30 minutes away to Woodburn.

There was a cow train, that we all decided was too "bumpy" especially for the 8 month pregnant one!

There was a bounce house.

There was a steep slide that had rollers that the kids went on about a million times because it was free. :-) Emily surprised me by being brave enough to do it by herself.


There were haystacks to climb with a slide to go down.


They also played in the sand. All in all, it was a perfect day. And on the way home, Melissa was nice enough to let me run into the outlets to buy new shoes. Finally, I have tennis shoes without laces, ha ha!!


So, here is a little update on other things.

My favorite blogger, running partner and friend had her baby!! I loved spending time with her boys and I am so happy she still got her pedicure while in labor!! She was beautiful and amazing to me at how effortless it all seemed. And Alice Rose is so sweet and perfect!! Henry was so proud when he saw the picture of his sister. The live blogging was hilarious. I am grateful I was able to meet Alice.


Easter- This is one of my favorite holidays because it is so much less commercialized than the other ones. I love just focusing on the Savior. We do Easter baskets but don't make a huge deal out of them. We have a tradition where we meet with our good friends for an awesome Sunday brunch and the kids are all dressed up and have an Easter egg hunt together. This was our 5th year and it was fabulous as usual! The weekend started out great for me because I went on a girls overnight to the beach. I was able to stay up late chatting, sleep in, relax, and enjoy a hot tub. It was wonderful. (Thanks, Jeff!!)





Chuck E. Cheese- We went here on a rainy, yucky day and it was a lot of fun for Dallin and Emily to be with their friends. This picture is of Dallin and some of his best buddies. I realize how blessed I have been to have good friends that my kids get along so well with. And the moms get along well too. I really think I owe my sanity to my good girlfriends! The only boys missing from this picture are Henry and Tyler, 2 boys whose moms just had babies! We love them too!!

Well, that is about it for now. I am feeling pretty good with a little over a month to go. I am just trying to enjoy my time with my children. My husband worked hard to install new baseboards and they look awesome. My house is staying clean, the baby's room is ready, now it is just waiting. I have enjoyed hearing about everyone's new babies. I can't wait to meet my little guy!! Now if only we had a name...please help...

No, this is not a joke..

...I really am blogging today! So, here we go! When I put off blogging, it makes it that much harder to get motivated to do it again. But, I would feel ungrateful for not sharing what an amazing month this has been!!

California!! What a wonderful vacation! We were looking forward to the wedding of my little sister to Nate, but first we had some playing to do! On the way down, we stayed at our good friends, Jared and Angi's. Angi and I met at BYU and became great friends. We were married one year apart and hung out together as couples the rest of the time Jeff and I were at BYU. We have had 2 kids each, a boy and a girl each, and they are 4 months and 6 months apart. Babies #3 are due 3 days apart! She doesn't know what she is having yet, but I am hoping the trend continues with another boy for both of us! We had a wonderful time at the park where we played and rode a train.


Next, we stayed with my sister Crystal. We LOVE spending time with her. We especially love being at the beach. The kids had fun playing in the sand, Dallin chased the unsuspecting seagulls, and I just enjoyed relaxing. It was a blast.



Disneyland!! What can I say? Disneyland truly is magical. Emily and I spent most of the time together and Dallin loved being able to go on the "big" rides with Dad. He thought it was cool that Mommy and Emily couldn't go. I didn't think that was so cool, but I tried to be a good sport about. Emily and I had fun looking for princesses. Grandma Nise and Aunt Brenda went with us. We also went to California Adventure for the first time, and my brother Erik and cousin Justin joined us. What a crazy 2 days. We also were lucky enough to meet up with some of our good friends, Carrie, Leah, and Jonas from Oregon. The kids were so excited to see them.









Mountains- I love spending time with my family. So, in between Disneyland, CA Adventure and the wedding, we just played at my parents house. We walked to the park with Grandpa John and my sister Heather and her kids. Dallin and Emily loved playing with their cousins.

Wedding- Beautiful, as expected. I feel really grateful that Shelly found such a good guy to spend forever with. They are a great couple and I know they will be very happy. I enjoyed getting to know Nate's parents and siblings. Even though we didn't get home from the reception until 11pm, we dropped Dallin off for a sleepover with cousins. They had had so much fun at the reception that they didn't want it to end!




Drive home- We stopped by my AUnt Marlynn's which is always fun. We all went swimming and just spent more time as a family. I can't wait until our next trip!!

We had such a good time just being together as a family. The kids really learned to rely on one another and Jeff and I just enjoyed not having the normal craziness of life. I love being with family.

Whew!! You would think it couldn't get any better, but...

Surprise!! While I was gone, one of my best friends did a mini makeover for me. She finished painting my playroom! She had helped me design it, so she knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do. I think she also knew that it would probably never get done if she didn't step in. She added the movie film reel, and put in the pictures of the Cars characters, Dallin's favorite. She is a professional organizer so she also reorganized it and it works so much better! She wrote a note to my kids telling them that it was Lightning McQueen who stopped by. She didn't know it, but we had seen LIghtning at CA Adventure, so Dallin said, "Mom, did Lightning McQueen do this for every kid at CA Adventure?" It was so cute!! I cried because it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I know it was a ton of work and I am trying to figure out a way to repay her. If you think of anything let me know!!


I also came home to my brand new floors!! After 6 years of hating carpet in the eating area, we finally sucked it up and paid for someone to replace them with laminate flooring. What a wonderful thing to come home to. I am glad Suzie suggested to go with the darker color because it is beautiful. I LOVE sweeping and mopping now!! I am sure the newness will wear off, but I promised Jeff I will never complain about those chores. It has been awesome!

So, this week was Spring Break and we really just took it easy. We went to the park with Suzie and her kiddos, we swam at the YMCA, and then Thursday we went with a big group to a museum.


It was such a fun week. I am now refreshed and ready to get back to the old routine. We had a very productive weekend, starting with a fun night at Suzie's. Isn't she tired of me yet? I moved the crib into Dallin's room and organized all the baby clothes. I feel ready now, but I still have 7 weeks to go! I just wanted to take advantage of energy while I had it.

I enjoyed listening to Conference and feel ready to make good choices and use my time wisely. I just had a last minute invite to a girls night at the beach, so my goal is to keep getting things done so I can "earn" a break. Hold me to it, okay?! Alright, if you made it through all of that, I am impressed. I just needed to write things for my own remembrance!!